By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
Between birthday candles and Fourth of July fireworks, many popular holidays are celebrated with some sort of fire-focused tradition; whether Prometheus’ work or not, the holidays bring about specific safety precautions that participants should heed to keep their flammable festivities from becoming out-of-control incendiary disasters.
Fort Fairfield and Limestone Fire Chief Paul Durepo, Assistant Chief Michael Jalbert and Fire Safety Educator/Paramedic Matt Beil highlighted the inherent dangers behind some holiday traditions, while also offering their views on safer variations that are equally festive and will make certain that chestnuts are the only things roasting on an open fire this holiday season.
Halloween
Inside every gap-toothed jack-o’-lantern is, traditionally, the same fire hazard posed by any other lit candle left unattended.
So when a jack-o’-lantern is placed out on a porch, next to a festive bail of hay or dried corn stalks, with no one standing by to monitor the flame, “you have a recipe for disaster,” said Beil.
Enter LED technology, the safer alternative to the candle-lit jack-o’-lantern.
“They flicker just like a candle, but they’re a battery operated LED light,” Beil explained, adding that many in the community have already made the switch to the safer illuminative alternative. “We try to discourage the use of candles a lot, specifically anything that involves using a candle when you’re not in the same room,” he added.
The firefighters routinely teach the phrase “if you go out, blow out,” to encourage safe candle usage. Chief Durepo even mentioned that the region has seen its share of candle fires that have burned homes down.
But, as Beil described, “the closer we get toward the holidays, the more candles you’re going to see.”
For those who insist their holidays be filled with the fragrance of pumpkin spice and other seasonal scents without making the conversion to potpourri, Chief Durepo offered a couple of candle-specific safety tips, like making sure the candle is burned atop a fire-proof barrier, like metal, and away from curtains or any other potential fuel source.
“It’s not that you can’t use candles, but if you leave the room, blow them out,” Beil emphasized.
Thanksgiving
The holidays are all about tradition and, for those of us who lack the culinary expertise of Julia Childs, one of those traditions is the smoke alarm going off at least once while preparing the Thanksgiving feast.
While that screeching alarm serves as an annoying reminder that the biscuits are burned, firefighters advise all chefs not to take the batteries out of their smoke detector to silence such baking-induced nuisance alarms.
Often, during the hectic holiday hoopla, those smoke detector batteries never seem to find their way back into the crucial safety device.
“That’s why we don’t take the batteries out,” Beil reminded, adding that many new smoke detectors come equipped with a “hush” button, which silences the device for approximately 20 minutes.
With scores of pie flavors and more potato options that one can shake a stick of butter at, there’s only one Thanksgiving staple that’ll be on everyone’s table Nov. 24 — undoubtedly, the turkey.
Frying has become a popular means of cooking the large bird, but what could possibly go wrong with 10 gallons of boiling grease over an open flame?
If there’s too much oil in the pot when the turkey is submerged, the boiling oil spills out of the container, splashes on the open flame directly below, and causes a massive grease fire. But the outcome can be even worse if the turkey is still frozen or has moisture on it.
As the water particles enter the hot grease and turn to vapor, it produces a fine mist of grease — in such close proximity to open flame, an explosion will likely occur causing a huge column of fire.
Chief Durepo suggests that for those who are set on fried-turkey this Thanksgiving, “make sure you do it outdoors, on a driveway and away from your building — not on the porch,” he said.
The firefighters also recommend making certain the oil is not heated to its point of ignition.
Christmas
The Season of Giving shares in all the fire hazards of the previously mentioned holidays while uniquely introducing its own highly flammable elements — the tinder box that is a neglected natural Christmas tree and the spark yielding outlet-abuse that comes with hanging Christmas lights.
“Bah-humbug’s” aside, proper precautions can ensure a festive and fire-retardant holiday, and the firefighters were eager to shed light on problematic abuse of extension cords.
It starts with one outlet and one extension cord; then three extension cords get plugged into that first extension cord, and the process continues.
“Before you know it, you have nearly 3,000 watts being run through a cheap $1 extension cord,” Beil warned.
Jalbert and Durepo highlighted the ways in which extension cords become compromised, like being pinched under furniture, closed in doors, draped over ignition sources or chewed by animals.
“You come into a lot of problems when you’re overloading an extension cord and its plastic is breaking down from being bent, crimped and frozen outside,” said Beil. “When it cracks when it bends, obviously the wire is touching and it’ll start a fire.”
Instead of reaching for the bottom-of-the-line extension cord, the firefighters were in agreement that a few extra dollars should be spent to ensure fire safety.
Beil personally recommends using three-prong grounded extension cords. “They have a heavier wire and the plastic insulation isn’t as prone to breaking down as the cheaper extension cords,” he explained.
For added electric protection, Jalbert recommends using GFCI outlets (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter).
“If there’s a short, such as water, the GFCI will trip the circuit breaker at the source and it will shut off,” he explained. “It’s an inline circuit breaker, so to speak.”
Many power strips also contain built-in breakers as well.
When it’s time to string lights outside, an appropriate outdoor extension cord is a must — and stringing strands of lights together over-zealously is a definite electric no-no. Most light packages contain the appropriate number of strands that can be attached safely.
“The same applies for your Christmas tree,” said Jalbert, “You don’t want to overload the number of lights on it.”
Christmas trees are an iconic symbol of the season, but the conifer requires care to ensure it doesn’t dry out by the time the holiday rolls around.
“What happens is that if you get a Christmas tree a month ahead of time, put it in the same room as a fireplace or a wood stove and never water it, you’ll literally have a box of matches,” Chief Durepo described.
Once sparked, a dry Christmas tree can ignite an entire room in less than 30 seconds.
Durepo emphasized the importance of watering a tree on a daily basis to keep it from drying out.
(If you think they’re exaggerating the destructive potential of a Christmas tree, think again; Google “Christmas Tree Fire” or visit http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/holiday-seasonal/treefire.shtm.)
But as dangerous as a dry Christmas tree can be, there’s something under that pine that guarantees the firefighters will respond to at least one fire in their small towns on Christmas Day. Wrapping paper.
As Chief Durepo explained, the most active chimney fire day of the year is Dec. 25 “because those who have wood stove fires burn their wrapping paper and create a chimney fire,” he explained. “Well when you burn paper, it causes high heat for a very short time, and it sucks these burning flakes of paper right up into the chimney; and if there’s any creosote in there, it starts a fire.”
The long, cold winter
As Jack Frost settles in for the winter months, many choose to combat the chilly County months with woodstoves.
Woodstoves generate ashes that, if not properly disposed of, can start a fire.
“We’ve had a number of house fires over the years because people put their ashes in a cardboard box or a plastic barrel before setting them on their deck of their porch,” Chief Durepo said. “But what they don’t understand is that deep inside that ash is an ember, and when the wind starts blowing, it starts glowing red.”
To keep any lingering embers from causing a fire, the firefighters recommended keeping ash in a metal container, away from any fuel sources and all combustibles.
While National Fire Safety Week is observed in October, its lessons should be observed year-round.
“Keep fire extinguishers around the house, and know how to use them,” Durepo recommended.