News

Think Fire Safety this Holiday Season
Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Holiday decorations •U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 860 home structure fires per year that began with decorations, excluding Christmas trees, in 2009-2013. These fires caused an annual average of one civilian fire death, 41 civilian fire injuries and $13.4 million in direct property damage. •Ten percent of decoration fires were intentional. •The decoration was too close to a heat source such as a candle or equipment in nearly half (45%) of the fires. •One-fifth (20%) of the decoration fires started in the kitchen. One out of six (17%) started in the living room, family room or den. •One-fifth (20%) of the home decoration fires occurred in December. Source: NFPA's "Home Structure Fires Involving Decorations" report, November 2015. Candles •Candles started 38% of home decoration structure fires. •Half (51%) of the December home decoration fires were started by candles, compared to one-third (35%) in January to November. •The top three days for home candle fires were Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Christmas Eve. Source: NFPA's "Home Structure Fires Involving Decorations" report, November 2015. Holiday cooking •Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve. •Cooking equipment was involved in 18% of home decoration fires. This can happen when a decoration is left on or too close to a stove or other cooking equipment. Source: NFPA's "Home Fires Involving Cooking Equipment" report, November 2016.