A Season for Sharing Fire Safety - Deputy Chief Justin Norman

Friday, December 12, 2008

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) reports that holiday season fires kill 400 and injure 1,650 individuals and cause over $990 million in damage. In response, it offers some simple life-saving steps that can greatly reduce your chances of becoming a holiday fire casualty. Let’s start with 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. • Do not link more than three light strands, connect strings of lights to an extension cord and plug the cord into the outlet. Periodically check the wires; they should not be warm to the touch. • Never leave holiday lights on unattended Next up is holiday decorations. • All decorations should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat vents. • Never put wrapping paper in a fireplace. It can throw off dangerous sparks and produce a chemical buildup that could cause an explosion. • If you are using a metallic or artificial tree, make sure it is flame retardant. Candles, while beautiful, pose real fire hazards. • If you do use them, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be easily knocked down. Never leave the house with candles burning. • Do not go near a Christmas tree with an open flame - candles, lighters or matches. Last but not least is the Christmas tree. Christmas trees account for 200 fires annually, resulting in 6 deaths, 25 injuries and more than $6 million in property damage. Typically shorts in electrical lights or open flames from candles, lighters or matches start tree fires. Go to http://fire.nist.gov/tree_fire.htm to see how fast a live Christmas tree will or won’t burn. Within three seconds of ignition, a dry tree is completely ablaze. At five seconds, the fire extends up the tree and black smoke with searing gases streaks across the ceiling. The sofa, coffee table and the carpet ignite prior to any flame contact. Within 40 seconds, "flashover" occurs and the entire room erupts into flames, oxygen is depleted and dense, deadly toxic smoke engulfs the scene. Wet trees tell a different story. Testers used a fresh tree, cut an additional two inches cut from the bottom, put it in a stand with 2 gallons of water and maintained the water. Neither a single match nor an entire matchbook ignited by an electric current could fire the tree. A propane torch ignited the branches, but self-extinguished when the flame was removed. • Needles on fresh trees should be green, hard to pull back from the branches and not break if the tree is fresh. The trunk should be sticky to the touch. If you bounce the tree trunk on the ground and many needles fall off, it has probably dried out and is a fire hazard. • 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. A wet tree is a safe tree! • Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood-burning stove. When the tree becomes dry, discard it promptly. Take your tree to a recycling center or have it hauled away by a community pick-up service. Finally, as in every season, have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home, test them monthly and keep them clean and equipped with fresh batteries at all times. Know when and how to call for help and practice your home escape plan. Justin Norman is deputy fire chief for the BBVFC, where he has been a member since 1996. He is a nationally registered emergency medical technician, a member of the Sussex County Technical Rescue Team and a private first class with the Ocean View Police Department. He lives in Bethany Beach and can be reached at [email protected].