By Kellie Audrain
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.–With winter weather and the holiday season coming on strong, it’s time to refresh on how to keep the Christmas tree bright with lights and not with flames.
Almost nine hundred people die in-house fires, with over $2.9 billion in property damage, every winter according to FEMA.
Remember to keep space heaters three feet away from any flammable objects and to turn them off whenever you leave the room they’re in. Christmas tree lights should be turned off at the same frequency. FEMA reported that one out of four Christmas tree fires is caused by electrical problems and one out of four fires is caused by a tree being too close to a heat source.
A video from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, linked by FEMA, showed an unwatered tree going up in flames in less than ten seconds.
An attempt was made to get a quote from Fayetteville Fire Captain Jeremy Ashley, but he did not reply in time for publication.