Indoor Christmas trees and electricity can make a perfect – and perfectly dangerous – holiday match.
Christmas tree fires are “a very small but notable” part of the fire problem in the United States, according to a report from the National Fire Protection Association. The analysis from the Massachusetts-based nonprofit includes estimates of the frequency of home fires involving Christmas trees and is reportedly based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System, as well as survey data.
Blazes that begin with an ignited Christmas tree account for less than 0.1% of all reported home fires, the report says. Yet despite a steady decline in annual frequency, tree-involved fires continue to pose a threat to people and property each holiday season.
From 2016 to 2020, according to the NFPA report data, fire departments responded to an estimated annual average of nearly 160 home structure fires involving a Christmas tree.
Data indicates these fires most often occur in connection with electrical equipment like lights, cords or wiring, or when trees are too close to heat sources in the home, such as a space heater. On average, about 40% of Christmas tree-involved home fires each year from 2016 to 2020 occurred in December, per the NFPA, while about 30% occurred in January.
Christmas tree fires account for only a sliver of a percentage of property damage – as well as injuries and deaths – from all reported home fires, the NFPA report says. It notes, however, that this remains “significant if you consider that these items are generally in use for a short time each year and are not present in many homes.”
Although the annual frequency of such fires appears to have been declining, the report estimates these incidents still cost some $12 million annually in direct property damage over 2016 to 2020, amounting to an average of more than $70,000 per fire in 2020 dollars.
On average, NFPA estimates show that more than half of all property damage each year over that same period was caused by tree-involved fires originating in an area like a living room, family room, lounge or den. Common room locations were the origin site for about 40% of these fires on average each year, and caused the majority of civilian injuries as well.
Casualties associated with Christmas tree fires are not very frequent, averaging 11 civilian injuries and two civilian deaths per year in the last five years of data reported.
The NFPA report also indicates Christmas tree fires most commonly occur later in the day, with about one-third occurring between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in recent years, on average, with home occupants likely asleep during much of that time. Meanwhile, only 5% of such fires annually are estimated to have occurred in a bedroom.
There are a number of steps families can take for greater tree safety. The NFPA suggests watering trees frequently, keeping trees away from heat sources, tossing frayed electric lights and ensuring trees do not block exits.
Source : USNews
