CHRISTMAS TREE BURNS: Raising Public Safty Awareness
In response to a 1990 fire involving a Christmas tree, which claimed seven lives, the Farmington Hills (MI) FireDepartment in December 1991 conducted three live structural burns involving Christmas trees as part of a holiday fire safety public education program. Farmington Hills Chief Richard Marinucci, a past president of the Southeastern Michigan Fire Chiefs Association, solicited and won the Association’s support in sponsoring and promoting these demonstrations as a regional program. Additional funding and supplies were provided by area commercial suppliers and retailers.
THE DEMONSTRATIONS
The demonstrations were held in a 1 1/2-story, wood-frame, single-family dwelling with a basement. The ceilings and walls of the approximately 40-year-old structure were of plaster construction, and the floors were a combination hardwood/carpeted surface. The building was divided into three fire areas. Each area was fully furnished and contained a Christmas tree, presents, and typical holiday decorations. Room 2 was protected by an automatic sprinkler system (retrofitted and supported by an engine company). All rooms had an electrical ignition source beneath the tree at floor level.
The Christmas trees used in the structural burns were purchased from different tree lots approximately one week before the burns and had not been watered. Additional trees had been purchased and were kept in water during the same time period. Those trees then were used outside the structure to show the importance of proper tree maintenance. None of the watered trees could be easily ignited with an open flame.
Media video camera personnel were allowed to record each fire area before and after the burns. During the fires, they could record from an exterior window or through a hole cut through the bottom portion of the interior doors. After the burns, the structure was fully ventilated and the media personnel were allowed to reenter the building to observe and record the actual damage. They were given the opportunity to interview fire safety professionals. The interviews, in conjunction with the footage obtained during the burns, were used by the respective agencies as very effective public education tools.
Following is a summary of the developments that occurred in each of the burns:
(Photos by Alan Ellis.)
Bum No. 1. Upon remotely activating the ignition source, some minor smoke and then an open flame were produced. Within 11 seconds after the first flame was observed, the entire tree was involved. Within 20 seconds, the smoke detector, located in the adjacent hallway, operated. Within 58 seconds, smoke and fire gases had banked down to within two feet of the floor. At one minute 45 seconds, the room flashed over; the fire then was extinguished.
Burn No. 2: The room was protected by an extended-coverage sidewall sprinkler head with a temperature rating of 155°F. Upon remote activation of the ignition source, some smoke and then open flame were produced. Within 15 seconds after open flame, the entire back side of the Christmas tree was involved; within 20 seconds, the sprinkler head activated and extinguished the fire. The sprinkler head was so effective that the front half of the tree was undamaged and the decorative lights on the lower half of the tree were still operating.
Bum No. 3The fire area was almost identical to that used for Burn No. 2. For this burn, however, the area was not protected by an automatic sprinkler system. Within 10 seconds of open flame, the entire tree was involved; the room violently flashed over at one minute 14 seconds. Two minutes after the first open flame appeared, the fire was extinguished.
CONCLUSIONS
Among the observations made during our evaluation of the program were the following:
- The multiagency approach (Southeastern Michigan Fire Chiefs Association) provided greater media interest and involvement; consequently, the fire safety message was disseminated to a greater number of people.
- The demonstrations raised the public’s fire safety awareness level. Although it is difficult to establish a definite cause-and-effect relationship between the program’s effects and the fire statistics of the following holiday season, it is possible that the program may have contributed to the safer 1991 holiday season: No tragedies resulting from accidental Christmas tree fires were reported.
- The public, through the graphicevidence presented in Burn 2, was made aware of the value of automaticsprinkler systems and the damage they can prevent.
