Carefully decorating Christmas trees can help make your holidays safer. Note These statistics are based on fires that started with Christmas trees and do not include fires starting with other products. A small fire that spreads to a Christmas tree can very quickly become large. Facts figuresChristmas trees were the items first ignited in an estimated average of 210 reported U.S. home structure fires per year in 2002-2005. These fires caused an average of 24 civilian deaths 27 civilian injuries and 13.3 million in direct property damage per year. These statistics include both real and artificial trees. On average one in every 9 reported home Christmas tree fire resulted in a death. Almost half 48 of the home Christmas tree fires were caused by some type of electrical failure or malfunction. Twenty-seven percent of the Christmas tree fires resulted from a heat source placed too close to the tree. Five percent resulted from someone typically a child playing with fire or other heat source. Holiday lights or other decorative lighting with live voltage were involved in 22 of the home Christmas tree structure fires. Fixed or portable space heaters were involved in 7 of these incidents. No equipment was involved in 36 of these fires. Candles were the heat source in 15 of the home Christmas tree fires per year between 2002 and 2005. Two-thirds of the home Christmas tree fires were reported in December 19 were reported in January. During the same five-year period 90 outside and other non-structure non-vehicle fires on home properties started with Christmas trees on average per year. Two-thirds of these fires occurred in January. Sixty-four percent were intentionally set. SAFETY TIPS When decorating your tree always use lights listed by a testing laboratory. Some lights are designed only for indoor or outdoor use but not both. Larger tree lights should also have some type of reflector rather than a bare bulb. Follow the manufacturers instructions on how to use tree lights. Any string of lights with worn frayed or broken cords or loose bulb connections should not be used. Connect no more than three strands of push-in bulbs and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs. Always unplug Christmas tree lights before leaving home or going to bed. Bring outdoor electrical lights inside after the holidays to prevent hazards and extend their life. Never use lit candles to decorate a tree and make sure any lit candles in the room are placed well away from tree branches. Try to keep live trees as moist as possible by giving them plenty of water daily. Do not purchase a tree that is dry or dropping needles. Check for fresh green needles. And place your tree in a sturdy tree stand designed not to tip over. If you purchase an artificial tree be sure it is labeled as fire-retardant. Children are fascinated with Christmas trees. Keep a watchful eye on them when around the tree and do not let them play with the wiring or lights. Store matches and lighters up high out of reach preferably in a locked cabinet. Make sure the tree is at least three feet one meter away from any heat source such as fireplaces and radiators. Try to position the tree near an outlet so that cords are not running long distances. Do not place the tree where it may block exits. Safely dispose of the tree when it begins dropping needles. Dried-out trees are highly flammable and should not be left in a house or garage or placed against the house.
