Christmas Tree Fire – It only takes a minute

Christmas tree fire destroys a living room in under a minute.

Stay safe this season – keep ignition sources away from your Christmas tree, and make sure you’ve always got a clear escape route.

A video by direct.gov.uk/firekills

Other Christmas Fire Safety Tips from Blazequel:

Trees & Decorations Fire Safety Tips:

  • Your tree will rapidly dry out in a warm environment. Make sure it is well watered as a tinder dry tree is a fire waiting to happen.
  • Make sure your tree is at least 3 feet away from any heat sources like fireplaces, radiators, candles, heat vents or lights
  • In the excitement of unwrapping your presents, be careful not to allow the discarded paper get too close to any heaters or candles
  • Never EVER use lit candles to decorate the tree
  • Make sure your lights are suitable for the application – some lights are only suitable for outdoor or indoor use.
  • Make sure your tree lights are turned off at night.
  • Be careful not to overload the plug sockets with additional lights.
  • Decorations burn easily so it’s never a good idea to string them between your lights.
  • Be aware if using mains powered fairy lights, that if one light on the chain should fail then the other lights will burn hotter to compensate this.
  • REMEMBER – Just two to three breaths of toxic smoke from a fire can render a person unconscious and you have less time to escape than you think. Make sure your tree or decorations are not blocking the emergency exit should something go wrong and you need to get out in a hurry.

Dinnertime Fire Safety Tips:

  • Candles on the table might look nice, but they are a huge fire risk – particularly if there are excited children present. Never underestimate how quickly things can do wrong…
  • Every year the fire brigade are called out to assist with Christmas pudding mishaps. Take care if you do wish to enjoy a flaming pudding, and never pour the brandy straight from the bottle.
  • Also be careful not to overheat your pudding in the microwave – with good things like sugar, alcohol and fruit your pudding will not require too much heat to warm it. A Christmas pudding fire can also begin in the microwave…….