Subscribe to Our Feed!This post is important. It’s especially important for those of you who have “live” Christmas trees in your homes. In some cases, the wonderful smelling, beautiful live tree experience can be a fire hazard. Don’t believe me? The National Fire Prevention Association states that firefighters respond to an average of 250 home structure fires that began with Christmas trees resulting in 14 deaths, 26 injuries and over six million dollars worth of damage. That’s a sobering bunch of statistics. More sobering is a video comparison of a dry tree (left) and a wet, maintained tree (right).
That’s right. The whole room was fully engulfed in less than 40 seconds. Do you know how scary that is? Think about how long 40 seconds is for just a moment. Is that enough time to round up your children and get out the door? What if you’re in the opposite corner of the house unloading the dryer or trying to find the presents you have hidden in your storage room? Could you get to your children and get out of your house in less than 40 seconds? That’s a scary thought, isn’t it?
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be the case. In short, “a wet tree is a safe tree.” The information from NIST is encouraging and informative. (They also have a comparative video on above link.) Here’s what their research concluded.
Wet trees tell a different story. For comparative purposes, the NIST researchers selected a green Scotch pine, had it cut in their presence, had an additional two inches cut from the trunk’s bottom, and placed the tree in a stand with at least a 7.6 liter water capacity. The researchers maintained the Scotch pine’s water on a daily basis. A single match could not ignite the tree. A second attempt in which an electric current ignited an entire matchbook failed to fire the tree. Finally they applied an open flame to the tree using a propane torch. The branches ignited briefly, but self-extinguished when the researchers removed the torch from the branches. Trees that have been watered properly, and maintain pliable, green needles are harder to ignite than dry trees with needles that break easily when bent and fall from the tree when the branches are shaken.
In short you need to cut your own tree from a tree farm. Do not purchase trees that are pre-cut from roadside stands. And you need to water it. Daily. If you’re going to grandma’s house for four days, don’t go with a real tree this year. Watering is insanely important.
As much as a dry, unmaintained tree can be a fire hazard, it’s not the only fire safety concern when it comes to the holiday season. The US Fire Association (USFA) has some important tips on keeping your family fire safe this year. Here are some very important things you need to do before you decorate or now if you’ve already decked your halls.
- Maintain your lights. Check for frayed wires, bare spots or other unsafe spots in your wiring.
- Do not overload electrical outlets. Do not link more than three strands. Check wires by touch; they should not be warm.
- Do not leave holiday lights unattended. I know they’re pretty but turn them off when you’re going to Christmas Eve service or dinner at grandma’s house.
- Use only nonflammable decorations. Keep all decorations away from heat vents.
- Never put wrapping paper in a fire place.
- Avoid using lit candles. Always extinguish them before you leave or sleep. Never put them on a tree. Never.
There are some other suggestions as well.
I share all of this information with you not to be a Scrooge. I love holiday decorations, lights and Christmas trees. As a sharing point, no, we don’t have a real tree in our house. When FireDad showed me these videos this past Friday night after getting home from a week at the Fire Academy for Fire Investigator education, I asked one simple question, “Is that why we don’t have a real tree.” His reply was in the affirmative, of course. I do share this information with you so that you are aware. It is possible to have a well-maintained, live Christmas tree and other safe decorations around your home. It is possible to have a fire safe holiday.
It would be in your best interest to go ahead and remind your children what to do if there is a fire, test your smoke alarms and practice fire safety this holiday season. You could be extra-dorky, like me, and attach these gift tags to any gifts you’re giving this season that will remind others to practice fire safety as well. They’re festive and they promote safety. Just like us. (But we don’t attach well to gifts. Go with the printable tags.)
Be fire safe this holiday season!
by Sue Whiting (Author) and Donna Rawlins (Illustrator) is a book I got from our library. I’ll admit that I knew nothing about it and grabbed it solely based on the title and the photo on the cover. It’s a cute cover! The book itself is lovely. The book follows three little “firefighters” as they imagine their way into the fire truck (a box) along with their teacher and zoom off to the fire. They put on oxygen masks (hankerchiefs) and work very hard to put it out. I love imagination and so this book is an automatic favorite of mine. BigBrother and LittleBrother are also constantly putting out imaginary fires so they find this book to be fabulous. The reason I have included it in this post of books that contain fire safety tips is because, after the children put out their imaginary fire like the real firefighters, real ones show up to teach them about fire safety! They’re taught to “get down low and go, go, go” if a building they are in catches on fire. At first glance, you may think it’s just part of the story but your children pick up on this information. It’s a great little lesson in a great little book about firefighters. (As a side note, one of the children pretending to be a firefighter is a girl and one of the firefighters who arrives is a woman. HOORAY!)
by Stephen Krensky (Author) and Amanda Haley (Illustrator) is a book I recently purchased through our Scholastic book order at preschool. I rarely pass up a firefighter book in the book orders and I wasn’t disappointed with this particular one. The story follows a dragon who is, get this, afraid of fire. BigBrother found that to be rather amusing. Spark then decides to join the fire department to train himself not to be afraid of fire. (I must admit that this doesn’t seem like a particularly good idea for people who are afraid of fire.) He goes through the training (carrying ladders, studying about caring for people who are burned). Eventually he gets to fight a real fire and proves that he isn’t afraid of it anymore. He then comes back to help train new recruits. So where’s the fire safety lesson? In the middle of the book, it shows Spark at the school, teaching the children about fire safety. The chalkboard reads, “Never Play with Fire!” The fire chief explains, as Spark rolls around on the ground, what you should do in a fire (crawl under the smoke and stop, drop and roll if your clothes catch on fire). Once again, it seems like a two-page-spread in a story about a dragon but it doubles as a very important lesson. This book is simply adorable. I love Spark and so do TheBrothers.
The last book we love when it comes to fire safety tips is 
. We love Clifford in this house, whether in book, television or movie form. So, Clifford as a firefighter is an easy love. In this story, Clifford and Emily Elizabeth go to visit Clifford’s brother, Nero, a firehouse dog. As they’re visiting, the fire siren rings. We then follow Clifford and the firefighters as they make their way to the fire and put it out. Clifford helps in his big and tall ways. At the end, Clifford is mad an honorary fire rescue dog just like his brother. The fire safety tips in this book occur in two places. At the beginning of the book, before the fire siren rings, a group of children have arrived at the station to learn about fire safety. Nero teaches them how to stop, drop and roll. (So does Clifford but, at his size and with his Clifford-like-luck, he ends up crushing something. Not a child.) A list of fire safety rules also appears at the very end of the book. Things like knowing the way out of your house, choosing a place to meet and never using the stove alone are all on the list. I loved that they included a list at the end of the book! Clifford wins again!
This week is 
