Take extra precautions for a happy, safe holiday | News, Sports, Jobs

T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK
Ian Graham, an employee at Ferry Hardware at Martins Ferry, looks over the store’s selection of smoke detectors. State and local officials remind the public to exercise caution during the holidays.

THE HOLIDAYS are a time of decorating and festivities, but carelessness can easily turn a gathering into a tragedy.

With that in mind, local and state emergency officials have advice for the public to consider when hanging lights and wreaths and decorating trees.

Households that choose a live Christmas tree can easily underestimate how flammable it can become and how fast a fire can spread.

“With a live Christmas tree, cut a couple inches off the bottom so it’s fresh and keep water to it every day so it don’t dry out, so it don’t catch on fire,” Martins Ferry Fire Chief Tom Kelly Jr. said. “Once one of them trees catches on fire, it’s a massive fire to mess with. It catches everything. People put them in their windows and the fire can go right up the curtains and the ceilings, and you’ve got one heck of a fire going on.”

Kelly said fire hazards everywhere increase during dry weather.

“People throw a cigarette or something out the (car) window, it catches and we have all these grass fires. They don’t realize how dry it is outside,” he said.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve had a Christmas call,” Kelly said, adding there have been incidents with cooking but no recent incidents of a tree or lights causing a fire around the holidays. He speculated that decorations may be better made these days or that people are exercising more caution with them.

“People need to have smoke alarms in just about every floor in their house, maybe even every bedroom,” Becky Horne, executive assistant for the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency, said, recalling an incident that occurred in 1991 or 1992.

“I knew years ago a family that got some games for Christmas and it took batteries, and they took batteries out of their smoke alarms so a game would operate and their house burned down in the middle of the night. That was at Quaker City,” she said. “You don’t want to mess with smoke alarms. Make sure that they work.”

“It’s that time of the year — the furnaces are in full force and fired up. We use woodburners. … You shouldn’t use the same vent that your oil furnace lets out of,” she said. “That chimney will just explode because of the residue from the oil. … Cobwebs even catch fire in space heaters. … Space heaters that use propane, those have to be vented. You can’t use them indoors.

“I wouldn’t suggest using Christmas lights over more than a few years,” Horne added. “Keep an eye on your pets, too, because pets can chew through the wires.

Kelly also emphasized the importance of smoke detectors.

“It’s the holidays, you have a lot of visitors,” Kelly said. “Just make your smoke detectors work, just in case something would happen and you’re asleep. … They tell you once a year change the batteries, but it’s nice to do it twice a year, especially around the holidays.”

Other fire officials agree.

“We always recommend you change the batteries out of your smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, twice a year,” Dan Grady, assistant chief of the Cumberland Trail Fire District, said.

He also recommends other precautions, such as not heating a home using an oven or stove, keeping sidewalks and walkways clear of ice and snow to prevent falls, as well as exercising caution on the road. Grady added there are several common calls his department receives around this time of year.

“Early in the season when people start using their fireplaces if they haven’t been cleaned out properly, you get smoke in the house…or chimney fires, a lot of carbon monoxide detector activations,” he said. “If you’re putting up Christmas decorations outside, make sure the wires aren’t frayed. … Make sure you’re using proper wiring outside as far as insulated extension cords,” he said.

“Any resident of our fire district in need of smoke detectors, we have them here and we’d be more than happy to come and install them. They’re welcome to give us a call,” Grady said.

The fire district can be reached at 740-695-5147.

The Ohio Fire Marshal’s office also released information to help keep residents safe. According to the National Fire Protection Association, one of every three home Christmas tree fires is caused by electrical problems, and Christmas tree fires are more serious than typical home fires with one of every 31 reported Christmas tree fires resulting in a fatality. On average, just one in 144 typical home fires lead to a death.

Other recommendations include using LED lights to eliminate heat around live or artificial trees, and purchasing lights with the label of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Outdoor lights are specifically labeled for outdoor use and should be fastened securely and placed on a ground fault interrupter circuit. Do not connect too many light sets together and never use extension cords that are worn or cracked. Do not run them under rugs or over sharp objects.

People are encouraged to turn off lights and blow out candles when they go to bed or leave the house. Consider using battery-operated flameless candles. If used, real candles should be in stable holders.

Smoke alarms with a manufacture date of 2012 or earlier need to be replaced. For more fire safety resources, visit the State Fire Marshal’s website at com.ohio.gov/fire.