Christmas Tree Fires

The Holiday season is typically viewed as extending from late November to early January and it includes Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Day. Using the latest 3 years of data, the yearly estimated fire loss for December 24, 25, and 26 is estimated at over $80 million. Each year, these losses result from an estimated 12,000 fires that required a fire department response. These fires cause an annual national average of approximately 250 injuries and 40 fatalities.

In addition to the holidays themselves, many people choose to celebrate the season by decorating their homes with electric lights, candles, banners, and wreaths. The Christmas tree is among the most popular of these decorations. The Bureau of the Census

estimates that there were 101,041,000 households in America in 1998. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 33 million natural Christmas trees were sold that

same year, which means that nearly one-third of American households had a live or cut

Christmas tree inside the home. Each year, newspapers have tragic stories of families killed by fires that are ignited by the family Christmas tree. As the season goes on and trees become drier, the incidence of Christmas tree fires worsens.

In residential structure fires where the ignition point is a Christmas tree or other holiday decoration, the fire is typically more severe in every measurable way. Injuries,

fatalities, and property loss are higher than average. This is indicative of the potentially rapid ignition and spread of a tree or decoration fire. One fire official described a dry Christmas tree to a “bomb” in the middle of a home. In reaction to winter’s cold

weather,