A Season for Sharing in
Fire Safety
Each year fires
occurring during the holiday season claim the lives of over 400
people, injure 1,650 more, and cause over $990 million in damage.
According to the United States 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 Christmas Tree Fires
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Christmas Tree Fire Hazards
- Click the link to view 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Disposing of Your Tree
Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or woodburning
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
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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. |
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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. |
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Do Not
Leave Holiday Lights on Unattended |
Holiday Decorations
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Use Only
Nonflammable Decorations
All decorations should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and
placed away from heat vents. |
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Never Put
Wrapping Paper in a Fireplace
It can result in a very large fire, throwing off dangerous sparks
and embers and may result in a chimney fire. |
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Artificial
Christmas Trees
If you are using a metallic or artificial tree, make sure it is
flame retardant. |
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Kitchen Fire Safety Tip
With all that goes on in our lives, it's very easy to forget that
you placed that pan on the stove. It's a very common mistake. You
put something on the stove to cook. Then you get sidetracked. You
forget about it until the fire starts and the smoke alarm goes off.
If you're still home, you may have time to react. But if you've left
the house and the pan is still on the stove, you may not find out
about it until you return. By then, if you're lucky, your neighbors
have noticed your house is on fire and called the fire department!
The following information describes the types of fires you might
expect in the kitchen ... and what to do about them.
Dry Cooking Fires
The most common type of cooking fire is the dry cooking fire. The
water or moisture boils out of the pan and the food left in the pan
scorches, producing smoke. This usually doesn't cause a great deal
of damage. The heat may sometimes damage the surrounding area. The
smoke may leave a residue and an odor. Hopefully a little cleaning
up is all it takes.
Grease
Fires
The grease fire occurs when oil or grease type foods are heated and
ignite. A grease fire can do significant damage. Open flames can extend to
surrounding cabinets or other combustible items. If unnoticed, a grease
fire can extend to a major house fire, engulfing the entire kitchen,
adjacent rooms or even the attic. This becomes a dangerous
life-threatening fire.
Oven Fires
Most of the time an oven fire is not serious. The fire is usually
contained in the oven, which is designed for high heat anyway. The oven
fire usually suffocates or is easily extinguished. |
What to do if there is a
kitchen fire.
Get out and call the fire department.
*In all cases, make sure everyone evacuates the house.
*Call 911
and report the fire.
*If the fire is still very small, you can use a fire
extinguisher to try and put it out. But if the fire gets out of control,
get out of the house and wait for the fire department to arrive.
You might be able to extinguish a grease fire on the stove in several
different ways. The simplest way is to place a lid on the pan and the fire
should suffocate. A large amount of baking soda can also be used to
extinguish a grease fire. Once you have the fire extinguished, don't
forget to turn off the burner. But if the flames are too high, don't risk
getting burned.
Never, never put water on a grease fire!
Water will splatter the grease and dramatically increase the size of
the fire. You will easily get burned! NEVER try to carry a flaming grease
fire outside. It will quickly be too hot to carry and you will certainly
spread the fire over the entire area. |
