It's the holiday season, and as Southern California continues to burn, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission would like to remind you to water your Christmas tree. But instead of a friendly, gentle, Mr. Rogers approach, this year the commission decided to go full-on scary with a visual demonstration of the consequences of not keeping your tree well-watered.
Dry Christmas tree versus well-watered Christmas tree -- watch it burn.
In a video that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shared online last week, a dry tree that is set alight takes just seconds to go up in flames. Its watered counterpart, meanwhile, only emits a small amount of smoke.
“Safety should be part of all your decorating efforts,” Ann Marie Buerkle, the commission’s acting chairman, said via a statement on its website:
Make sure your live Christmas tree has plenty of water, keep lit candles away from flammable items and use caution when standing on a ladder or a chair to hang decorations.
Place your tree away from heat sources.
The commission also advised people who were buying a live tree to check for its freshness before purchase and to place it away from heat sources such as fireplaces, vents, and radiators.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments responded to an average 200 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year, from 2011 to 2015. These fires caused an average of 6 deaths, 16 injuries, and $14.8 million in direct property damage annually.
The holiday season has already claimed its first victims to Christmas tree fires.
It is too late for a baby, a man, and woman found dead Tuesday night inside a Jacksonville, Florida home. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has determined that the Christmas tree caught fire; it has not yet been determined if they suffocated, or burned to death.
Read the rest of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's safety tips HERE.
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