Playing it safe for holidays

Putting up a live tree this weekend? Keep it watered.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Is fire prevention on your Christmas “to-do” list?

Capt. Alvin Ware, head of the Youngstown Fire Department investigations unit, thinks it should be.

His worst day, as a member of the YFD honor guard, was the Neely funeral. Standing guard near five small and two adult caskets inside Mount Gilead Baptist Church is a Christmastime memory that will never fade.

A pot left unattended on a stove caused the inferno on West Glen- aven Avenue at 2:30 a.m. Dec. 22, 1993. The fire spread upstairs from the kitchen, and smoke inhalation claimed the lives of five children and their grandparents. The house had no smoke detectors.

Historically, cooking-related fires are the second-leading cause of death in Ohio; careless smoking is first, according to the Ohio State Fire Marshals Office.

Ware said it’s important, especially during the holidays when distractions are many, to never leave food unattended on the stove top or in the oven. Turn off what you’re cooking or baking if you must leave the kitchen, and check before going to bed to make sure the stove is off.

Follow the same safety precautions when it comes to candles: Don’t leave them unattended, and make sure they’re out when you go to bed. Ware said families with pets have to be extra vigilant when it comes to candles.

For some, work on the Christmas “to-do” list got started this weekend with deep-discount shopping on Black Friday. It’s also the weekend many families put up a tree.

Ware said take live-tree sellers’ advice and keep water in the tree stand. Dry trees, he said, are very susceptible to fire from sparks.

The fire marshals office also warns to not block your exit with a Christmas tree, and turn off all tree lights at bedtime or if you leave the house.

Extension cords, if placed under carpets to avoid a tripping hazard, build up heat and short out, Ware said. Also, walking on the carpet wears the extension cord and creates another fire hazard.

“The safe way to use extension cords is don’t run too many together; they’re not designed for that,” Ware said. “Heavy-duty extension cords and power-surge protectors are a good idea.”

You know there’s an electrical overload if breakers trip, fuses blow or lights dim, he said. Tree lights and other lighted decorations, combined with appliances and kids’ electronic games, draw a lot of power and can cause problems in older homes that don’t have updated wiring.

The city’s worst Christmastime fire tragedy happened Dec. 20, 1980, when a woman, her 16-year-old son and six of her grandchildren perished in their Hudson Avenue home, according to Vindicator files. Faulty wiring was listed as the cause. As with the Neely fire, there were no smoke detectors in the house.

Smoke detectors should be on every floor and in bedrooms.

The risk of fire is great in winter, especially in drafty older homes, when people try to keep warm with space heaters, Ware said.

“Heaters present a big problem when they’re too close to combustibles, like blankets and sheets,” he said “We always get fires in bedrooms from blanket or bedspreads.”