Cleaning Up
• When the tree becomes dry, get rid of it promptly. The best way is to take it to a recycling center or have it hauled away by a pick-up service.
• Don’t ever put tree branches or needles in your fireplace or woodburning stove.
• Ditto with wrapping paper. Doing that can release fire-starting embers or produce a buildup of dangerous chemical fumes in your house.
Year Round
• Have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home. Test them monthly and keep them clean and equipped with fresh batteries.
• Make sure your family knows and practices its escape plan.
• Remember, prevention is the key, not just during the Christmas season but all year long.
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Bill Dodds’ latest books are Your One-Stop Guide to How Saints Are Made and Your One-Stop Guide to the Mass (Servant Publications); and 1440 Reasons to Quit Smoking: One for Every Minute of the Day and What You Don't Know About Retirement: A Funny Retirement Quiz (Meadowbrook Press). His website is http://www.BillDodds.com. You can email him at BillDodds@BillDodds.com.
The pastor, the celebrant, went to investigate and quickly returned, telling people to leave immediately.
I remember walking from the building before thick, black smoke poured from the front entrance. Before one visitor, exiting through another door, was severely burned and lost her life. Before fire trucks, aid vans and police cars came whooping in.
We, the congregation, stood outside and watched. Not a few longtime parishioners wept.
It’s not bad to associate Christmas with fire. Not a cheery Yule log. A blaze that threatens life and home. The United States Fire Administration (a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency) says fires during the holiday season injure 2,000 people and cause more $500 million in property damage each year.
All too often, what is supposed to be one of the most joyous times of the year for a family turns into one its most tragic ever.
These are ways to reduce risk:
Choosing, Placing and Maintaining Your Tree
• When choosing a tree, look for a fresh one. Its needles will be green and hard to pull back from the branches. A needle shouldn’t break if the tree has been freshly cut, and the trunk should be sticky. Before you buy, bounce the tree trunk on the ground. If a lot of needles fall off, it’s been cut too long, has probably dried out, and is a fire hazard.
• Never place your Christmas tree close to a heat source. Not just a fireplace, but a heat vent. The heat dries out the tree, making it more easily ignited by heat, flame or sparks. Be careful not to drop or flick cigarette ashes near it.
• Never use an open flame — candles, lighters or matches — near the tree. It only takes one stray spark. Or, God forbid, the tree may tip into the flame.
• Don’t put your live tree up too early or leave it up for longer than two weeks.
• Always keep the tree stand filled with water. A tree can slurp up a lot of water. Check often.
Decorating
• Don’t ever put lit candles on your tree. Yes, that old-time custom has nostalgic charm but, in those old times, those candles caused fires.
• Before putting up strings of lights, check for frayed wires, bare spots, gaps in the insulation, broken or cracked sockets, and excessive kinking or wear. Dump any damaged or iffy strands. Only use lighting listed by an approved testing laboratory.
• Don’t overload your outlets. Don’t link more than three light strands, unless the directions say it’s safe. Connect the strings of lights to an extension cord before plugging the cord into the outlet. Periodically check the wires. They shouldn’t be warm.
• Don’t leave lights unattended.
• Make sure all your holiday decorations are nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat vents.
• If you are going to use lit candles in the house, be sure they’re in stable holders and put them where they can’t be easily knocked down. Never leave the house with candles burning.
