ATLANTA — Fire safety experts say now is the time to take down live Christmas trees, warning that the risk of a house fire increases as trees dry out.
Susan McKelvey with the National Fire Protection Association says more than one-third of home fires involving Christmas trees occur in January. She says the longer a live tree stays inside a home, the greater the danger.
“Christmas trees can go up in flames in moments,” McKelvey said. “There have been studies done — when looking at a dried-out Christmas tree, if it catches on fire, it goes up in flames in an instant.”
While Christmas tree fires are not as common as they once were, McKelvey says they are far more dangerous when they do happen.
“If one happens, it’s much more likely to be serious,” she said. “We know that the death rate in home fires involving a Christmas tree is much higher than other types of home fires.”
McKelvey says as live trees dry out, they become increasingly combustible, creating a greater fire risk inside the home.
“They become more combustible, so with time, you have a large combustible item in your home that’s becoming even more flammable as it continues to dry out,” she said.
Fire officials are urging anyone who still has a live Christmas tree in their home to make plans to take it down soon in the interest of safety.
WSB Radio’s Sabrina Cupit contributed to this story.
