How to Prevent Fires this Holiday Season

The beauty of Christmas can easily turn to tragedy without a few basic fire-safety measures. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind when stringing lights around an evergreen or relaxing beside a cozy fire.

Fireplaces

The folks at Fireside Hearth and Home warn customers to be aware of how hot fireplaces can get and take precautions to keep flammable materials safely away from them. Children also should be closely monitored at all times, as should pets.

They also remind customers to make sure to use a protective screen—and to handle those screens with extreme care, and they can get extremely hot.

The US Fire Safety Administration (USFA) cautions that a fireplace should never be left unattended and must be extinguished before retiring for the evening or leaving home. Hot ashes should be wetted down and placed in a metal container.

The USFA also recommends that firewood should be stored at least 30 feet away from the home.

Cooking

Rosemount Fire Marshal Steven Thorp said, “It’s important to have a carbon monoxide detector … This is a time of the year when the furnace is working, the doors are all shut, you’re cooking big meals, sometimes the drier is on. So you have a lot of exhaust going on and a lot of chance of the house creating carbon monoxide.”

Trees

Fresh Christmas trees can be extremely flammable and require extra safety measures. The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) warns consumers to make sure the tree they choose is as fresh as possible. Pass on trees with needles that fall off easily. Once home, they recommend:

• Cutting a couple inches off of the base of the trunk to ensure the tree can take up water.
• Locating the tree away from fireplaces, candles or heating vents and making sure it is not blocking an exit
• Being vigilant about adding water to the tree stand every day
• Removing the tree from the home once it is dry, but making sure not to leave it in the garage or leaning against the house.

The NFPA reports that a third of all tree fires are electrical in nature, so artificial trees also pose a significant fire threat.

Lights on a tree can also be dangerous. Thorp said it is easy for a spark to occur.

“When you put the lights together, the string of lights, you can get too many lights connected and overload the wiring,” Thorp said.

According to Eagan Deputy Fire Chief Pat DiIoia, LED lights are a safer alternative because they burn cooler than other types of Christmas lights. He goes on to say that, regardless of the type of lights, it’s critical to make sure they are UL approved and that users should never connect more strings than recommended by the manufacturer.

Candles

The National Candle Association reports that more than 15,000 fires are started by candles each year and the most common causes are inattention and misuse.

As with fireplaces, burning candles should never be left unattended.

And, like trees, candles should never be placed near anything flammable. Candles also, should be at least hree inches from other candles and should be placed only in approved holders made especially for that purpose.

DiIoia also warns people to situate candles in such a way that the family pet can’t accidently knock them over.

Year-round safety

Regardless of the season, Thorp said, “Make sure that your smoke detectors are working. Make sure that your carbon monoxide detector is working.”

Change the batteries at least once a year. A fire extinguisher also is an important home-safety accessory.