KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Decorating Christmas trees with shining, glimmering lights can be the best part of the holidays for many people. However, Rural Metro urged people to be careful and make sure those lights don't accidentally turn into fires.
They hosted a demonstration on Thursday to show how easily a dried-out Christmas tree can catch fire, setting a demonstration tree ablaze near Fire Station 32. They said placing a dry tree too close to a heat source can cause a fire to start in it. It only took around a minute and a half for the demonstration tree to completely burn up.
If a tree dries out, the pines and leaves can act as kindling for flames to spark. If they get warm enough, they may eventually start smoking and eventually spark. Officials said the heat source can come from older Christmas lights, space heaters or a fireplace placed too close to trees.
Officials said HVAC heating usually does not usually lead to Christmas trees catching fire.
They said that millions of dollars are lost in total because of fires during the holidays. The fire can usually spread to other objects in the room, finding more fuel to continue burning as it goes through the space.
"This was a simulate just in a corner we built of a room," said Jeff Bagwell, a spokesperson for Rural Metro Fire. "If you can imagine if that had been in a closed room, such as someone's living room, then clearly it will find more fuel, the temperature will rise in that closed container of that room, then it will ignite everything in that room and the damage can be catastrophic."
To avoid damage, they said people should immediately toss out their trees when they're done with them, instead of waiting until after New Years's. And if the tree is still up after Christmas, people should remember to keep watering them.
"We want people to do is to stay just as careful after Christmas as they were beforehand," said Bagwell.