This story has been updated.
This holiday season be careful it’s not your living room roasting on an open fire.
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Every year about 200 Christmas trees go up in flames. Even more fires — 14,000 a year — are attributable to candles, which lead to about 170 deaths and $350 million in damage, acccording to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“A tree can go up in a matter of seconds to minutes,” Megan Popielarczyk of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Safe Kids Georgia previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Safe Kids Georgia and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommend these precautions to keep the season bright:
The tree:
- Make sure your Christmas tree is fresh; keep it watered; cut two inches off the base of the trunk to allow it to absorb more moisture.
- Keep the tree away from fireplaces, radiators and vents.
- Turn off the lights on your tree when you're away from home or sleeping.
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The lights:
- Check lights, new or old, for frayed wires or cracked bulbs.
- Turn off outdoor decorative lights when away from home or sleeping.
- Never put electric lights on a metallic tree.
- Make sure your smoke alarms work.
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The decorations:
- Keep fragile or sharp-edged ornaments above the reach of young children.
- Holly berries, mistletoe berries, poinsettia and other decorative plants are poisonous. Keep them out of reach of children, and keep the Poison Control Center number posted. (1-800-222-1222)
- Extinguish candles when you leave the room.
On the way to grandma’s house:
- Automobile accidents increase in November and December. Be sure to wear safety belts and put children 8 years old or younger or 4-foot-9 or shorter in car seats.
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