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CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and NFPA's Greg Cade
NFPA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Maryland’s Office of the State Fire Marshal recently teamed up to bring needed attention to fire risks that frequently go hand-in-hand with holiday decorating. Greg Cade, NFPA’s director of Government Affairs participated in an event this week at CPSC’s new National Product Testing and Evaluation Center in Rockville, MD that included live burn demonstrations to underscore the importance of being aware of fire risks and taking action to avoid them.
“Christmas and the days around it are typically some of the top days for home fires," said Cade, "With an increased fire risk around winter holidays, following safety tips at this time of year is especially important to prevent fires."
The demonstration showed how quickly a dried-out Christmas tree goes up in flames. Christmas tree fires don’t happen often, but when they do the consequences are usually very serious, according to NFPA.
“Make sure you water your Christmas tree frequently, use holiday lights that are tested and certified and safe and not damaged, use candles carefully, and do not put a frozen turkey into a deep fryer,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “We want consumers to avoid fires and injuries by adding “safety” to their holiday checklist.”
Take NFPA's holiday quiz to test your fire-safety knowledge. Interested in spreading the word to help your community stay fire-safe this season? Look to NFPA's "Project Holiday" online toolkit for easy-to-use resources.
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