Dry Christmas tree vs Watered Christmas tree
Watch a Christmas tree fire
EMERG+NC Property Rescuers Warns of Increased Residential Fire Danger During the Holidays. Holiday celebrations are often accented with the glow of candles and twinkling holiday lights.
“We know that the number of home fires increases as the holidays grow near,” says Kevin Oakley of EMERG+NC Property Rescuers, a leader in property damage restoration.
Fire Administration show that holiday fires kill more than 400 people in the U.S. The culprit in many of these fires is either candles or holiday lights, according to The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Decorative holiday lights are implicated in an average of 170 home fires each year, representing seven deaths, 17 injuries and $7.9 million of the holiday fire damage total.
The numbers are similarly disturbing in Canada, where Fire Prevention Canada declares candles to be one of the major causes of home fires, especially during the winter and Christmas holidays.
The embedded video (above )is a NFPA / UL video that demonstrates the flammability of a dry Christmas tree vs. a tree that has been watered regularly.
Facts & figures
Between 2005-2009, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 240 home fires that start ed with Christmas trees per year. These fires caused an average of 13 deaths, 27 injuries, and $16.7 million in direct property damage annually.
Christmas tree fires are not common, but when they occur, they are likely to be serious. On average, one of every 18 reported fires that began with a Christmas tree resulted in death.
A heat source too close to the Christmas tree started one of every five (20%) of these fires.
Eighteen percent of home Christmas tree structure fires were intentionally set. Half of the intentional Christmas tree fires occurred in January and may have been related to disposal.
EMERG+NC Property Rescuers is on call 24 hours a day, even on holidays, if your home is damaged by a fire. Please keep our telephone number (919) EMERG+NC (919) 363-7462 in your Emergency Telephone List!
