Officials urge fire safety during holidays

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, but be careful with Christmas lights and holiday candles.

The candles and decorative strands of lights can be a fire hazard if homeowners aren't careful, local fire officials said Tuesday.

Jackson fire officials suspect holiday lights were to blame for a fire Monday night that heavily damaged one apartment and caused some smoke and water damage in other apartments at 320 Shawnee Blvd.

No one was injured in the blaze.

"We are leaning toward an electrical fire," Jackson fire chief Brad Golden said.

A couple and their daughter lived in the apartment. No one was home when the fire broke out, Golden said.

The family had placed Christmas lights inside their first-floor apartment around a window frame. The lights apparently fell off during the day, landing in a pile on a couch. "That is where the fire started," Golden said.

"It was a long, smoldering fire. It possibly occurred when they left their house that morning," Golden said. The fire wasn't discovered until about 6 p.m.

The family temporarily has moved in with friends or relatives in the area, said Cheryl Klueppel, executive director of the local American Red Cross.

Golden said residents should turn off their holiday lights when they leave home.

Local fire officials said real Christmas trees are a fire hazard, particularly when the needles are dry. "When they light up, it is unreal how quickly they will go up in flames," said Mike Ramsey, Cape Girardeau Fire Department battalion chief.

"We recommend the use of artificial trees instead of real trees," he said. Today's artificial trees are more fire-resistant, he said.

With real trees, it's important to keep the tree stand filled with water, officials said.

Some 200 Christmas tree fires occurred in U.S. homes in 2004, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Holiday candles pose a greater risk than Christmas tree lights, they said."Don't ever leave candles lit and unattended," Golden said.

Ramsey said people often light Christmas candles and then forget about them. If a candle is allowed to burn to the bottom of a glass container, the container can break and the fire can spread.

Candles started more than 2,400 home fires in the United States in December 2004, according to the fire protection association.

Emergency rooms haven't treated anyone for holiday decoration injuries so far this season, officials at Cape Girardeau's two hospitals said.

Ramsey said people need to check Christmas light strands to make sure the wiring isn't damaged.

It"s also important not to connect too many strands. Typically, no more than three strands should be linked together, he said. More than that usually will lead to blown fuses in the light strands, Ramsey said.

Golden and Ramsey recommend using grounded extension cords outside and not running electrical cords under carpet, Christmas tree skirts and under garage doors.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

---

Holiday decorating safety tips

• Keep candles away from decorations and other combustible materials. Do not use candles to decorate Christmas trees.
• Inspect new and previously used strings of light and replace damaged items before plugging in the lights.
• Don't overload extension cords.
• Connect no more than three strands of push-in bulbs and a maximum of 50 screw-in bulbs.
• Turn off all Christmas lights before leaving home or going to bed.

SOURCE: National Fire Protection Association