It’s a holly jolly time to be setting up a Christmas tree for the holidays but individuals should remember that there are some fire safety concerns to keep in mind this holiday season.  Price City Fire Chief Fitzgerald Petersen wants to make sure that this holiday season is safe for all residents in the Carbon County area.

“The lights absolutely have to be inspected, we’re looking for frays or any kind of change to the insulation – people tend to put them under rugs or in traffic areas to accommodate their space and that’s very normal but it’s a hazard. If people step on those the insulation breaks down, the rubber coating or plastic coating in most of those cases and that’s what causes problems, it will short out, heat up, and heat creates fire and that’s my big concern when it comes to lights,” stated Chief Petersen. If any lights don’t work or any of the cords are frayed or damaged, throw them out immediately. Do not try to repair them yourself.

Whether your tree is artificial or fresh its important to not place your tree near heat sources such as fireplaces, candles, heat vents, or radiators. “I catch a lot of flack for talking about candles but the biggest threat to a tree is a heat source. The tree itself isn’t going to catch on fire – there’s no trees that are bursting into flames they have to have a source of heat, they can come from the lights but often they come from other sources like candles, fireplaces, and anything that you may have in your home but the tree is going to become a hazard once it reaches a heat source somewhere,” explained Chief Petersen. Another important factor to remember is to never overload extension cords because this can also become a fire hazard and never run cords across walk areas as this can pose a tripping hazard.

If you choose to put up a fresh cut tree in your home there are some extra precautions that need to be taken. “I think one of the things about the trees themselves that people don’t think about is that they like to pick them up at the lots where they buy them and they’ll take them home and they’ll put them in their home without a little bit of care. One of the things that create these trees to dry out faster is as soon as they are cut from a farm for example or where ever they come from, they start to seal over themselves and will create a sap and that particular cut needs to be cut away – we’re advocating an inch or two up from that to start a brand new cut to where that’s where they are going to absorb water,” said Chief Petersen. The first 24 hours that a tree is brought into a home will generally take about a gallon of water than a quart or so a day on average afterward. It’s crucial that water is being added daily to the tree stand to keep the tree from drying out.

Community members can stay informed about the Price City Fire Department by visiting their Facebook page.