Now that the Thanksgiving leftovers are all gone, and the month-long Black Friday sales are finally over, it’s time to start the Christmas decorating – if you haven’t already.
It seems folks start their holiday decorating earlier each year, some right after Halloween. That’s too early for me.
But this is the time of year when the fireplace is burning logs nightly and beautiful scented candles add a festive touch to your holiday décor. But if you are not careful with candles and other flammable decorations, you could have more than chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and it wouldn’t be pretty.
Nicole Pesqueira, Brea’s new fire marshall, said via email that the major cause of holiday fires are from cooking, candles, faulty lights/electrical, decorations and dry trees.
Whether you go for a live Christmas tree or do like I finally did last year and purchase an artificial tree, you should be aware of fire dangers with live or artificial Christmas trees.
Aren’t artificial trees flameproof? According Pesqueira, artificial trees can be flameproof, but not all of them are fire resistant. Check the tree’s label. Mine is flame resistant.
Fresh trees need to be watered often to keep from drying out before Santa arrives.
To keep fresh and phony trees from going up in flames, use only flame retardant or flame resistant decorations and flameless candles.
And before decorating the tree or the house, check each string of lights you’ll use. If you spot signs of wear or find any broken cords or bulbs, don’t use that string of lights. Make the same check of lights on pre-lit trees. And always unplug your tree lights when you go to bed or leave the house.
Also, place the tree at least three feet away from a fireplace, radiator or any other heat source. Be sure your fireplace has a screen before lighting a fire in it. I have remote-operated candles in my fireplace. They make a cozy glow, flicker like they have real flames but there are no burning logs or ashes to clean out.
But fires can start from faulty batteries too. “A new trend we are seeing,” said Pesqueira, “is lithium-ion battery fires. A lot of Christmas gifts will likely have these types of batteries.”
Lithium-ion batteries are those flat, coin-sized batteries used to power laptops, smart phones, smoke alarms, toys, e-bikes, e-scooters and e-cigarettes. Many plug-in hybrid or all-electric cars also use Lithium-ion batteries.
The National Fire Protection Agency says to quit using the battery if you notice an odor, there is a change in color, it gets too hot, changes in shape, is leaking or has an odd noise. They advise to move away from the device or anything that could catch fire and call 9-1-1.
Pesqueira also advises to only use the Lithium-ion battery designed for the device, put the batteries in the device the correct way, and only use the charging cord that came with the device.
Did you know Fire Marshall Pesqueira just started with Brea earlier this month? She said she worked for Brea Fire Department for more than five years as a fire prevention specialist II but left two years ago to be the fire marshall at El Segundo Fire Department. When she learned of the vacancy in Brea she applied and we got her back.
She said her duties include managing the fire inspectors, the inspection and new construction program, handling public education, investigating fires and other duties.
Welcome back, Fire Marshall Pesqueira.
Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at daxoncomm@gmail.com.
