Scott Sheldon is an expert in how not to put up Christmas lights.
He’s been there. He’s broken that. And he’s not eager to repeat the experience.
“I was in such a hurry to get things done that I wasn’t safe,” said Sheldon, who two years ago broke his left arm, twisted his knee and sprained an ankle after falling from a ladder while adjusting his house lights. “I was lucky. Other people have had accidents worse than that.”
He’s not alone. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, emergency rooms treat nearly 13,000 people each holiday season for decoration-related accidents. That includes about 5,800 injuries from falls, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the majority of them from ladders or roofs.
Thankfully, holiday ladder injuries aren’t that common around Emporia.
“We see one or two between putting decorations up and taking them down, but that’s about it,” said Pam Kvas, the director of Newman hospital’s emergency room. “In general, people are very careful.”
So how to avoid being a statistic? Use some common sense. A lot of holiday mistakes, Sheldon agreed, are avoidable:
• Take your time. Sheldon’s accident started when he was in a hurry to get downtown to the Seasonal Celebration. Looking back at the house, he saw a string of lights had come loose from the roof. He decided to do a quick fix — which meant he wasn’t paying full attention to what he was doing,
• Check your ladder. When Sheldon got out the extension ladder, he didn’t set it up properly. According to a Fresno, Calif. story on home safety, an extension ladder should have at least three rungs above where you want to go, to use as handrails. Sheldon instead found himself standing on the top step to reach the lights — a decorating no-no.
• Have a supporter. Sheldon was working alone, which meant he didn’t have anyone at the base of the ladder to hold it steady. That made an already unbalanced situation worse.
• Use your ladder safely. Not only did Sheldon stand on the top step, he leaned to the left to reach the string of lights he needed. Bad idea: Your belt buckle should never pass beyond the ladder rail, according to the Home Safety Council. That was the final mistake that sent both Sheldon and the ladder tumbling down.
“There’s a good geometry lesson and a good physics lesson there, needless to say,” said Sheldon, a high-school principal.
But Sheldon didn’t break every rule in the book. A few other things to keep in mind:
• Angle the ladder properly. The Home Safety Council recommends the 4-to-1 rule for extension ladders — for every 4 feet between the ground and the upper point of contact, move the base of the ladder out 1 foot.
• Make sure the ladder is on a stable surface, the rungs are dry and that you’re wearing shoes that won’t slip.
• It should go without saying, but make sure the ladder isn’t near any power lines.
• If using a stepladder instead of an extension ladder, the highest safe step is the second rung from the top.
• Avoid decorating on top of the roof if possible, or at least hire a professional. If you decide to do it yourself anyway, check the roof warranty before you step onto it — some warranties can be voided if you step on something and break it.
Meanwhile, nobody’s about to catch Sheldon swaying on a ladder again.
“If you drive by my house, you will notice there are no Christmas lights up on my roof.” Sheldon said with a laugh.