TOLEDO, Ohio — It's that time of the year, when folks begin to decorate their homes for the holiday season. It may seem like common sense, but it is important to take the proper steps to stay safe, as these decorations can often bring the risk of fires.
"Do we see trends as we get closer to the holidays? We probably do, in some point, in regards to safety and maybe people cutting corners," Toledo Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson, Pvt. Sterling Rahe said.
Pvt. Rahe said the corners that are cut mainly happen with trees, lights and overloading circuit outlets.
Whether your tree is artificial or not, they are still flammable. Artificial trees do have some built in protection, but real trees do not.
"The key to that is to keep it hydrated. Make sure that it's in water at all times, so that it doesn't dry out. It doesn't take long especially with out heaters running, furnaces running with the dry air to dry out those trees so you want to make sure it's hydrated continuously," Rahe said.
According to him, a dry tree can catch fire in seconds, which means people have to be aware of what's on and around it, like lights and power strips.
"Nowadays, we're pretty much at a point where hopefully most of the lights we're using on Christmas trees are newer in nature, UL (Underwriters Laboratories) approved which have a safety factor built into it," Rahe said.
Although a power strip provides more outlets, it's simple to overload it. The fire department does not recommend using every extra outlet on the power strip.