One-third of Christmas tree structure fires involved electrical failures or malfunctions. Nearly 20 percent of these structure fires occurred because some type of heat source was too close to the tree. This is why hiring an electrician who completed a NASCLA Accredited Electrical Exam Prep is very important to avoid any electrical failures. If you need help from a nearby technician like MZ Electric or looking for electrical repair in North Dallas, TX, you can always visit a place like callbigfamily.com/residential-electrical/ to find a reliable electrician to help you.

NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) offers the following Christmas fire safety tips:

• If you have an artificial tree, be sure it is labeled, certified, or identified by the manufacturer as fire retardant.
• If using a real tree, select one with fresh, green needles that do not fall off when touched.
• Before placing the tree in the stand, cut 1″ – 2″ from the base of the trunk.
• Make sure the tree is at least three feet away from any heat source, like fireplaces, radiators, candles, heat vents or lights.
• Make sure the tree is not blocking an exit.
• Add water to the tree stand. Be sure to add water daily.

Lighting the tree:

• Use lights that have the label of an independent testing laboratory. Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.
• Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Connect no more than three strands of mini string sets and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs. Read manufacturer’s instructions for number of LED strands to connect, and if you need help you can also get a las vegas electrician to help you and do everything more secure.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the second and third leading days for cooking fires respectively. Most cooking fire occur when cooking is left unattended. Tips on cooking fire safety are also available at www.nfpa.org/holiday.

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‘Tis the season for rosy cheeks, button-down coats, and cranking up the heat. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), it’s also the time of year when home fires peak, many of which are caused by heating equipment.

“Half of all home heating fires occur during December, January, and February, when we are fully utilizing our heating systems” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of communications for NFPA. “The public can reduce their risk of getting left out in the cold by following NFPA’s safe heating behaviors.”

In NFPA’s report “Home Fires Involving Heating Equipment,” in 2009, heating equipment was involved in an estimated 58,900 reported home structure fires, 480 civilian deaths, 1,520 civilian injuries, and $1.1 billion in direct property damage. Stationary and portable space heaters accounted for one-third (32 percent) of reported home heating fires, but nearly 80 percent of the home heating fire deaths, two-thirds (66 percent) of associated civilian injuries, and half (52 percent) of associated direct property damage.

Overall, fires, injuries and damages from fires involving heating equipment were all lower than in 2008 and fit into a largely level trend over the past few years. The number of deaths from heating equipment was virtually unchanged.

As temperatures begin to drop, here are some safe heating behaviors to follow:

• All heaters need space. Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
•  Have a qualified professional from www.onehourheatandair.com/lees-summit install stationary space heating equipment or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
•  Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional. If you need someone to service or repair your furnace, sites like alohaairmemphis.com/heating-services/furnace-repair/ can send one of their technicians to your home. You can also visit Home Heating and Air Conditioning | Furnace Replacement for more info.
•  Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
•  Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel-burning space heaters.
•  Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.
• Test smoke alarms monthly.

In an effort to reduce winter fires, NFPA is partnering with the U.S. Fire Administration on a special campaign – Put a Freeze on Winter Fires.

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While I was waiting I heard a woman yell, “Fire!” I turned in the direction of her voice and saw a pillar of flames rising up about 8 feet in the middle of the men’s department. I turned to see if Jordan was entering the store and he wasn’t. I turned back towards the fire and now there are dozens of customers surrounding the men’s department. Suddenly a second pillar of flames shot up toward the ceiling. I turned to the Walmart greeter, who was still just standing their oblivious to what was going on and I said, “There’s a fire in the men’s department call 911.” She steps away from where she was standing, next to a phone, to see for herself before she went back to call 911. I stepped forward and started telling customers to back away from the area-but I couldn’t leave from being in sight of the front door until my son came back in and knew where I was. I turned back to the greeter and ask where the fire extinguishers were and she said, “Don’t worry, they’ll get it.” I wondered, “Who’s they?” There was still no Walmart employee taking charge of this situation.

Jordan entered the store just as a third column of fire stretched up from the men’s department. He asked what was going on because he saw a man run by him with a fire extinguisher. I pointed to the men’s department just as someone was putting out the fires with a fire extinguisher. As the fires were extinguished and the residual smoke rose toward the ceiling the alarm finally went off in Wal-Mart, I would guess maybe 2 minutes from the time the woman yelled, “Fire!” Now that the alarm was going off Walmart employees started yelling at customers to leave the building immediately. Customers who had witnessed the whole thing were wondering why they had to leave now since the fire was out. Other customers were running due to the panic in the voices of the Walmart employees. Customers were leaving their shopping carts by the front door as they fled the store, this made it difficult for others to exit the building. Some customers walked out with what they had in their hands-paid for or not. We saw one man in the parking lot later trying to figure out what to do with a Swiffer Sweeper he had accidentally walked out of the the store with.

We exited the store and stood with the other customers up against the front of the building for about 3 minutes. As we were standing there we witnessed panicked parents yelling at their kids who had separated from them in the store,and a bewildered elderly woman whose daughter was trying to explain why they couldn’t finish shopping Then the fire department showed up. As the emergency vehicles pulled in to the parking lot, Walmart employees told everyone to move away from the building and into the parking lot. Couldn’t they have said that as soon as everyone was exiting the building? Now we had to cross through the parking lot as the emergency vehicles were trying to pull up to the front of the building-it wasn’t very safe. We went to our car and sat marveling at the fact that many employees were congregating under trees in the parking lot smoking while customers were entering the parking lot and not being told the store was closed.

Walmart employees failed on many different levels during this emergency. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.

• As soon as they heard the woman yell “Fire!” or as soon as they were notified employees should have moved customers out of the area immediately instead of allowing dozens to congregate in the area.
• It should never take minutes for someone to come running from another area with a fire extinguisher. There should be extinguishers in every area and employees should be trained in how to properly extinguish a fire.
• Some one should have been able to manually trigger the alarm-which is what the employees seemed to have been trained to respond to-not the visual evidence of fire!
• The store should have been evacuated quickly and smoothly as soon as the fire was reported. Employees should be trained on how to evacuate the store, some should be by the doors to take customers carts and place them out of the way while others are outside directing customers to the parking lot.
• Once the store is evacuated employees could man the entrances to the parking lot so that customers can leave and no new customers come in while the store is closed.

What can you learn from this?

• Don’t be paranoid but always know where all of the exits are to any building you enter.
• Know where your kids are, even your teens, at all times in a store. If they go off, make sure they have a cell phone so you can contact them in an emergency.
• Stay calm and exit any building in an orderly fashion. Don’t let the panic of others to overtake you.
• Stay out of the way of emergency vehicles and personel. I know this sounds basic but today I was witness to the fact that many people have no common sense.

Stay Safe!

**Update-According to the local news the were were 3 fires set by a disgruntled customer who had been at the customer service counter trying to return some merchandise. He then set the fires and left the store. He was caught 2 hours later trying to return stolen goods to another Walmart in the area.**

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