NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

December 7, 2000

Celebrate the Holidays Safely

The holidays are filled with emotion and excitement. A seasonal song says, "There's no place like home for the holidays." But the nature of the excitement and emotion changes when an accident occurs.

"The excitement of the holidays and the ease of becoming caught up in those special feelings can allow us to become lax in our concern for safety," says George Maher, a safety specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. "The holiday season calls for extra caution to keep memories happy and safe."

One of the biggest fire hazards of the season, is the evergreen tree, Maher notes. To limit the danger, select the freshest tree possible. One way of getting the freshest tree is to cut your own evergreen at a tree farm.

An excellent way of selecting a freshly cut tree is to look for soft, pliable needles and branches. Only a few needles should fall when a fresh tree is thumped firmly stump-first on the ground. Some brown needles in near the trunk are part of the natural growth process and not always the sign of a dried out tree, Maher says.

Trees at sales outlets are often wrapped with a plastic mesh that makes a good examination of the tree difficult. The mesh eases handling and reduces damage during transportation. It will take some time for the tree to relax its branches and open up after the wrapping has been removed. "It is easier to select your tree from those that have had the wrapper removed," Maher says. "You may be in for a surprise if you wait and remove the plastic mesh at home."

No matter if the tree is fresh cut or selected at a sales outlet, maintain it carefully until decorating, Maher advises. Store the tree in a cool location at home until you are ready to decorate it. Cut about an inch of wood from the butt end, at a slight angle before inserting the tree in the stand. Cutting exposes fresh plant cells that take up moisture from the reservoir in the tree stand.

"Dried out cells cannot take up water, so the tree will dry out very quickly, becoming a dangerous fire hazard," Maher says.

As soon as the tree is set up, fill the reservoir with water or your favorite recipe for watering the tree. A half and half mix of Seven-Up and water is one popular recipe. Keep the reservoir filled to prevent the tree from becoming water-locked, otherwise the tree cannot absorb moisture and will quickly dry out.

When the tree is first put up it will consume a lot of water, then the consumption will slow down to a steady rate. "If you allow the reservoir to dry out, you will have to re-cut the end of the trunk," Maher says. "That means taking the tree down, decorations and all, just to re-cut the trunk.".

Before putting them on the tree, check every string of lights for frayed wires, broken insulation, cracked light receptacles, damaged mounting clips or other problems. Repair the string immediately or discard them, Maher says. Use parallel wired light strings -- the ones that remain lighted if one or more bulbs are burned out. Series-wired strings of lights are not very common and should not be used. If you have a set they are probably very old.

Be careful not to overload the extension cord to the tree. Not more than three strings of lights should be connected to a single extension cord. Also avoid connecting several extension cords to only one electrical outlet. "Each light bulb uses very little electricity, but many strings of bulbs or decorations on several cords can result in an overload and maybe a house fire," Maher says.

Place the lights on the tree so they do not touch the needles. Bulbs that are in contact with, or too close to the needles can dry them out and ignite them, he says. Use tinsel made of plastic, not metal foil which conducts electricity. Apply paper and combustible ornaments very carefully on the tree. Never put them close to lights.

Maher notes that there are advantages to selecting an artificial tree. They don't need watering and they can be kept from year to year. However, when an older, all-metal, artificial tree is used extra caution is needed since it may conduct electricity from worn-out strings of lights. "Illuminate it with flood lights rather than strings of lights, just to be safe," he says.

Always look for the Underwriters Laboratory tag when shopping for a new artificial tree or electrical decorations. Most artificial trees are made of plastic and should be fire resistant. Apply lights carefully to these trees so that they are not too close to the needles.

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