Holiday fire safety begins at home, says State Fire Marshal

Screenshot from a video distributed by the Michigan State Fire Marshal demonstrating how quickly a dry tree can go up in flames.

submitted by Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

With the holiday season and colder temperatures upon us, State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer is reminding Michiganders to stay safe and help prevent home fires. Unattended candles, space heaters, worn lights, and dry Christmas trees all are factors that increase the risk of having a home fire.

“This is the peak season for home fires,” said Sehlmeyer. “It is vital that Michiganders follow basic fire safety tips to help keep friends and family safe and avoid tragedy this holiday season.”

The following video shows how quickly a dried-out Christmas tree fire burns, with the whole room igniting in less than one minute, as compared to a tree watered daily: Christmas tree demo

Safety tips for consumers include:

• Check the Christmas tree’s water level every day.
• Keep the Christmas tree away from candles, space heaters, and smoking materials.
• Use Christmas lights that are in good condition. Do not use lights with worn or tattered cords.

Additional tips for safe smoking and safe heating for consumers include:

• Keep a clear space of three feet around your space heater to avoid any object that can burn, including people.
• Never use a space heater near the Christmas tree.
• Never sleep with your space heater on; utilize only when you are awake.
• Unplug space heaters when leaving the room.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the top three days for home candle fires occur on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. In many cases, fires that occur around the holidays are caused by unattended candles left burning, either when the resident falls asleep or leaves the home with the candle left burning. Michigan residents are advised to:

• Please use battery-operated candles instead of live flames when possible. Battery-operated flameless candles look, smell, and feel like real candles.
• If using real flame candles, keep candles away from the Christmas tree, decorations, curtains, and furniture that can catch fire.
• Always keep candles up high to prevent them from getting knocked over by children and pets.

MI Prevention strongly encourages Michigan residents, especially caregivers or anyone who takes care of someone, to watch the following fire safety video to better help those they care about to increase their chances of surviving a residential fire: MI Prevention fire safety

As we continue to watch the fire fatality numbers climb, we urge the message that “Fire can happen to anyone” and escaping in less than 2 minutes is only possible with working smoke alarms, closed doors between you and the smoke, and practicing your escape plan. It is important for families to develop and practice a Fire Escape Plan. MI Prevention has identified that people between the ages of 40 and 69 are at the greatest risk to die in residential fires in Michigan.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.