Fire Chief reminds community about fire safety during the holidays

By KATHLEEN WOODFORD

Mineral Independent

The National Fire Protection Association reports there is an estimated annual average of 210 home structure fires that begin with Christmas trees. Based on data from 2002 through 2005, these fires caused an average of 24 civilian deaths, 27 civilian injuries, and $13.3 million in direct property damage per year.

Superior Fire Chief Rob Torrey said there are probably more fires related to staying warm than those caused by Christmas trees this time of year. When the temperature drops near freezing, he sees a lot of faulty electrical issues relating to space heaters and chimney fires.

However, they also see some dry Christmas trees fires because of electrical light cords weaved into the limbs. According to the NFPA, studies show that although the number of Christmas tree fires is low, these fires represent a higher level of hazard. On average, one out of every nine Christmas tree fires resulted in a fatality compared to an average of one death per 75 non-confined home structure fires overall. Further, 49 percent of Christmas tree fires spread beyond the room of origin. The fires that spread beyond the room of origin caused 94 percent of the associated fatalities.

The percentage of trees involved in structure fires represent an extremely small portion of the total number of natural Christmas trees sold, which is estimated at 30 million trees, in the United States each year. About one out of every three fires is caused by electrical problems. The moisture content of each tree can play a dominant role in determining the fire hazard each tree represents.

Properly maintaining a cut Christmas tree is important to retaining a high moisture content in the needles. A tree which has dry needles can quickly ignite and generate heat release rates that are capable of causing flashover in a room.

“We say to ‘water your tree, so we won’t have to’,” said Torrey. “Also, dry trees can rapidly spread a fire from hot sources next to the tree.”

December is also the peak time of year for home candle fires with one-third starting in the bedroom.

Torrey said smoke alarms are more important now than ever.

“The stuff we use in our homes burns way faster than household products 50 years ago and so getting out of the house as soon as you know there’s a fire is huge,” he said.

He’s also surprised at how few carbon monoxide alarms he sees.

“Sometimes carbon monoxide alarms go off before smoke alarms because they can sense incomplete combustion when the fire is in its earliest stage.”

Currently, the Superior Volunteer Fire Department has a program which installs free smoke alarms in local homes. They have installed over 183 alarms in 66 homes since July and recently received another 100 alarms from the American Red Cross in Missoula. The alarms also come with 10 year batteries and they can install up to three alarms per home.