Stay safe while celebrating the holidays by being cautious of decorative fire hazards
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Twinkling holiday lights brighten dark winter streets and homes this time of year, but fire officials warn people to be careful with their winter decorations so light doesn’t turn into fire.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) U.S. fire departments respond to an average of 835 home structure fires per year that began with decorations, a number that excludes Christmas tree fires — another concern this time of year.
Christmas trees, candles and stringed lights are all things that can bring people joy during the dark winter days and holiday celebrations. State Fire Marshal Tim Bean said they can also pose a fire risk to your home.
“With the holiday season — Christmas, you know — there’s more use of extension cords, decorations, Christmas trees, you know, those type of things,” he said. “And if you don’t think fire safety, it could lead to a tragic situation.”
The NFPA recommends using battery-operated flameless candles. If you do use traditional candles, keep them at least 12 inches away from anything that burns.
Natural Christmas trees dry out over time and become more and more flammable. Natural or artificial, make sure your tree is at least three feet away from any heat source, including space heaters.
When it comes to lighted decorations be careful to not overload extension cords.
Fox 23 reached out to citizen journalists through the Now local news app to hear how you practice fire safety with your home holiday decorations.
“I would have to say one of the big things we do to prevent fires is we unplug our tree every evening before we go to bed,” Christy said. “We don’t leave it on when we are sleeping or when we are not at home.”
“A lot of the holiday decorations that we put up, especially our Christmas tree, are plugged into smart plugs that are connected to an app on our phone so that we can put everything on timers,” Jill said. “Then if we leave the house and we’re like, oh no, we forgot to turn off the Christmas tree, I can just open my app on my phone and go ahead and turn it off there.”
“If you have candles — everybody likes to have candles over the holidays — remember to blow them out,” Kathy said. “Set a timer. You know, something like that. Write yourself a note. Put a reminder on your phone.”
Fire officials said, if you notice light smoke in your home or have other problems like a circuit breaker frequently tripping, reach out to 911 and they can investigate the cause before it turns into a fire.
