Celebrate the Holidays Safely

The emotion and excitement of the holidays can cause us to become lax in our concern for safety. But the holiday season calls for extra caution, notes a safety specialist at North Dakota State University. And that’s especially true of the evergreen tree.

"The tree is one of the biggest fire hazards of the season," notes George Maher of the NDSU Extension Service. "The best way to limit that hazard is to select the freshest tree possible, even if you have to modify your decoration planning. One way of getting the freshest tree is cutting your own tree at a tree farm. The next step is to maintain the tree carefully until it is to be decorated."

Spot a freshly cut tree by looking for soft, pliable needles and branches, Maher says. Only a few needles should fall when a fresh tree is thumped firmly stump first on the ground. It is natural that there will be some brown needles in the center area of a tree near the trunk. They are not always a sign of a dried out tree.

Most trees at sales outlets are wrapped with a plastic mesh that makes a good examination of the tree difficult. The mesh is for ease of handling and to reduce 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. You may be in for a surprise if you wait and remove the plastic mesh at home," Maher says.

Store the tree in a cool location at home until you are ready to decorate it. Be sure to cut about one inch of wood from the butt end, at a slight angle, before inserting the tree in the stand. "Fresh plant cells can take up moisture from the reservoir in the tree stand," Maher explains. "Dried out cells cannot take up water, so the tree will dry out very quickly, becoming a dangerous fire hazard."

As soon as the tree is set up, fill the reservoir with either water or your favorite recipe for watering the tree. A half and half mix of 7-Up and water is one popular recipe. "Keep the reservoir filled to prevent the tree from becoming water-locked," he says. "If it becomes water-locked it 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 the reservoir dries out, you’ll have to take the tree down, decorations and all, to re-cut the end of the trunk."

Carefully check every string of lights before putting them on the tree. Frayed wires, broken insulation, cracked light receptacles, and damaged mounting clips are problems to look for and correct. Use parallel wired light strings. These are 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, Maher says.

Be careful not to overload the extension cord to the tree or other decorations. Not more than three strings of lights should be connected to a single extension cord. It is not safe to connect several extension cords to only one electrical outlet. "Each light bulb uses very little electricity, but many strings of bulbs on several cords can result in an overload and maybe a house fire," he 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 may ignite them. Use tinsel made of plastic, not metal foil which conducts electricity. Apply paper and combustible ornaments very carefully on the tree, taking special care to avoid lights.

"There are safety advantages to selecting an artificial tree, compared to a natural tree," Maher says. "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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