Oh Christmas Tree

If you're super festive and you love the smell of a live Christmas tree, this blog post is for you. Your fir tree probably looks and smells good for the holidays, filling your house with the scent that your kids and/or grandkids will forever associate with the holiday season and family cheer.

That same tree could be the reason you end up homeless if you're not careful. Apparently, between 2013 and 2017 US fire departments across the nation respond to an average of 160 home fires per year that started with a Christmas tree. The stats here are in your favor because on average these fires kill a total of 3 people, cause 15 injuries, and end up doing around $10 million in property damage.

How do you prevent house fires? Smokey Bear would probably recommend the following: make sure your tree isn't near ANY heat sources. This includes, but is not limited to, anything that contains open fire (ie: the fireplace, a lit cigarette, or the stove top) and electrical heat sources (such as your stove, a radiator, or space heater). Something else you want to watch out for is making sure you have the correct lights for a live Christmas tree. Look for "UL" or "FM" on the label to make sure that the lights are within current safety requirements. Do not put any lights that have frayed wires or damaged plugs. You also want to make sure your live tree is fresh. If it's fresh, it still has water in branches and needles and is going to be harder to light up. Remember: if you're trying to start a fire, you'd want dry logs over wet. Once your live tree starts dying and the needles start falling out, it's time to get rid of your Christmas tree. Usually, they will survive around two weeks and it is recommended that they are not kept much longer than that. Make sure that when you cut the tree that the cut is made one inch from the base of the tree and keep a water source under the tree to allow it to absorb water. In addition, make sure that the Christmas tree isn't blocking an exit so that in the event that it does light up you're able to escape.

Now for the fun part - the disposal. When your tree dries up what do you do with it? Don't chop it up and burn it inside. Fir trees (most evergreens, so that includes things like spruces too) produce creosote when burned which creates buildup that results in blockage which can lead to, you guessed it, a house fire. Creosote cannot be consumed and is an irritant to the human body, so you may need to have a professional come and clean your chimney if you make the mistake of burning your Christmas tree indoors and manage to not start a fire or smoke everyone out of your home. Instead, burn the tree outside, take it to the curb if your garbage pickup will take it, or drag it to a location that recycles live Christmas trees. In other words, please be responsible with your live evergreen this year or you'll be singing "Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, why'd you have to be on fire" as the fire department shows up to your house.

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