Winter Holiday Fires By The Numbers |
By President Keith Grierson | |
December 24, 2017 | |
Have a safe and happy holiday from the Skippack Fire Company. Remember safety is not an accident. Put health and safety on the top of your list. Christmas Trees Between 2011-2015, U.S. fire departments responded to an average 200 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year. These fires caused an average of 6 deaths, 16 injuries, and $14.8 million in direct property damage annually. Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in two of every five (40%) of home Christmas tree fires. One quarter (24%) of Christmas tree fires were intentional. Forty-two percent of reported home Christmas tree fires occurred in December and 37% were reported in January. More than one-third (37%) home Christmas tree fires started in the living room, family room, or den. A live Christmas tree burn conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows just how quickly a dried out Christmas tree fire burns, with flashover occurring in less than one minute, as compared to a well-watered tree, which burns at a much slower rate. U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 840 home structure fires per year that began with decorations, excluding Christmas trees, in 2011-2015. These fires caused an annual average of two civilian fire deaths, 36 civilian fire injuries and $11.4 million in direct property damage. The decoration was too close to a heat source such as a candle or equipment in two of every five (42%) fires.
Candles started more than one-third (36%) of home decoration structure fires. Holiday cooking Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by the day before Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. Fireworks Source NFPA |
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