TYFD Education

Holiday fire safety

Each year fires occurring during the holiday season injure 2,600 individuals and cause over $930 million in damage. According to the United Sates Fire Administration (USFA), there are simple life-saving steps you can take to ensure
a safe and happy holiday. By following some of the outlined precautionary tips, individuals can greatly reduce their chances of becoming a holiday fire casualty

PREVENTING HOLIDAY TREE FIRES
Holiday Tree Fire Hazards - Movie segments demonstrating how fast a live Christmas tree can become fully engulfed in flames. Special fire safety precautions need to be taken when keeping a live tree in the house. A burning tree can rapidly fill a room with fire and deadly gases.

Selecting a Tree for the Holiday
Needles on fresh trees should be green and hard to pull back from the branches, and the needle should not break if the tree has been freshly cut. The trunk should be sticky to the touch. Old trees can be identified by bouncing the tree trunk on the ground. If many needles fall off, the tree has been cut too long, has probably dried out, and is a fire hazard.

Caring for Your Tree
Do not place your tree close to a heat source, including a fireplace or heat vent. The heat will dry out the tree, causing it to be more easily ignited by heat, flame or sparks. Be careful not to drop or flick cigarette ashes near a tree. Do not put your live tree up too early or leave it up for longer than two weeks. Keep the tree stand filled with water at all times.

Disposing of Your Tree
Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood burning stove. When the tree becomes dry, discard it promptly. The best way to dispose of your tree is by taking it to a recycling center or having it hauled away by a community pick-up service.

HOLIDAY LIGHTS
Maintain Your Holiday Lights
Inspect holiday lights each year for frayed wires, bare spots, gaps in the insulation, broken or cracked sockets, and excessive kinking or wear before putting them up. Use only lighting listed by an approved testing laboratory.

Do Not Overload Electrical Outlets
Do not link more than three light strands, unless the directions indicate it is safe. Connect strings of lights to an extension cord before plugging the cord into the outlet. Make sure to periodically check the wires - they should not be warm to the touch.

Do Not Leave Holiday Lights on Unattended

HOLIDAY DECORATIONS

Use Only Nonflammable Decorations
All decorations should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat vents.

Never Put Wrapping Paper in a Fireplace
It can throw off dangerous sparks and produce a chemical buildup in the home that could cause an explosion.

Artificial Holiday Trees
If you are using a metallic or artificial tree, make sure it is flame retardant.

CANDLE CARE
Avoid Using Lit Candles
If you do use them, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be easily knocked down. Never leave the house with candles burning.

Never Put Lit Candles on a Tree
Do not go near a holiday tree with an open flame - candles, lighters or matches.

Finally, as in every season, have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home, test them monthly and keep them clean and equipped with fresh batteries at all times. Know when and how to call for help. And remember to practice your home escape plan.

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2004

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide
(CO) Alarms for Homes

Home Dangers every year nearly 4,000 Americans die in home fires and approximately 25,000 are injured. Children and the elderly are especially at risk in home fires because they are less able to escape when fire strikes.

There are a few hundred CO fatalities annually, and many more persons suffer flu-like symptoms from CO exposure. You can improve the chances that your family will survive a home fire or CO leak by installing smoke and CO alarm s and knowing what to do if they sound.

Alert your family to danger The primary fire safety strategy for any home is to warn the occupants early and get everyone out as quickly as possible.

The best way to get the earliest warning of danger is by installing enough smoke alarms. Homes should have a smoke alarm near the bedrooms, but not so close to the kitchen that you have problems with alarms from cooking. It�s a good idea to have a smoke alarm in each bedroom, especially if you sleep with the door closed.

CO usually comes from faulty heating appliances but may also come from fireplaces or cars running in attached garages. CO cannot be seen, tasted or smelled, so the only way to detect a CO problem is to have a CO alarm. CO alarms should be located near the bedrooms.
If your smoke or CO alarm sounds, get everyone outside.

What kinds are there?

There are two kinds of smoke alarms --ionization and photoelectric. The ionization smoke detectors activate quicker for fast, flaming fires and the photoelectric type is quicker for slow, smoldering fires. Either one will provide you enough time to get out, but having a mix of the two types is a good idea.

Models with both sensors are better than single sensor units, but of course they cost more. Smoke alarms are powered either by household current (ac), a battery, or ac with a battery that keeps it operating during power outages. The battery type is easy to install in existing homes but the battery must be changed annually.

Building codes for new homes require ac powered alarms with battery backup. For greater safety, older ac only smoke alarms should be replaced with ac/battery alarm, and new codes requires any smoke alarm older than 10 years to be replaced.

Many local building codes now require CO alarms when a home uses gas or oil, or has a fireplace. CO alarms are also powered either by household current (ac), a battery, or ac with a battery. Most CO comes from equipment that will not be working during a power outage so plug-in units are good. But if you might heat your home with a fireplace, wood stove, or kerosene heater when the power is out, you may want to use a battery-powered alarm. The sensor element in some CO alarms must be replaced regularly. Consider the cost of the replacement element in making your selection.

January 2000

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