Christmas fire safety tips from the state Fire Marshal

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — With temperatures starting to drop as we enter the winter months the number of fires is expected to start to start to spike soon. That paired with people decorating their homes for Christmas also poses a fire threat.

The National Fire Protection Association says on average there are 790 house fires a year during this time period, and as Rhode Island’s state fire marshal Timothy McLaughlin describes most of those can be prevented

“It’s a lot of stuff that’s preventable, and that’s what we try to preach. Be proactive, be preventable,” McLaughlin said.

Over the next few weeks, people will hang Christmas decorations, put up trees, as well as start to use their fireplaces and crank up the heat to keep warm.

All of that activity in the house can be a serious fire hazard if precautions aren’t taken. For example, cleaning your fireplace and chimney from any debris inside.

“It doesn’t need a lot if you have a void space in your chimney to get inside and really create a lot of damage,” he said.

Another concern? Your Christmas trees. If you have a real tree in your house, it can dry out quickly and go up in flames.

“10 seconds, maybe 15 [seconds]. They go up fast especially if it’s dry,”  McLaughlin said.

Mclaughlin recommends watering your tree often and then disposing of the tree as soon as possible after Christmas, because they dry out quickly, especially with the heat on in the house. He says within a week of Christmas you should dispose of a real tree.

Finally, McLaughlin warns about the spike in electricity in houses, as many people rely on space heaters during the winter months. Mclaughlin says to make sure space heaters are plugged directly into the wall and not an extension cord and to leave three feet of space around it.