The twinkling lights on a tree decked with ornaments can look beautiful, but one expert reminds Iowans to take precautions, especially if you have a fresh-cut tree inside the house this month.
Webster City Fire Chief Chuck Stansfield says you have to keep up with watering that tree daily, and if you leave home, switch the lights off or keep them on a timer.
“As we get further and further into the season, they do start to dry out and that’s where things can get really, really concerning,” Stansfield says. “If we leave lights on too long, if they get hot, if the electrical outlets are overloaded, we want to try to spread that out amongst a lot of different outlets, not try to load just one up.”
Stansfield says Iowans can minimize other fire risks that come with the season of celebration.
“We’re having big parties and people over and we want the house to smell festive,” Stansfield says, “be careful with candles. Make sure if they’re not going to be supervised, go ahead and blow them out. You can leave something there to relight them when you re-enter the room.”
When decorating the outside of the house, the chief suggests buying new lights instead of using old ones that might not be the safest.
“If you have some old Christmas lights that you’re putting up outside that maybe are a little frayed, or if they show a wire, that’s of course the first and foremost concern,” he says. “Make sure you go ahead and replace those.”
Another advantage to modern LED lights is they use much less power, and multiple strands can typically be plugged into one outlet.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)