More than one-third of house fires nationwide in January originate with Christmas trees.
Cookeville Fire Chief Benton Young said live Christmas tree fires are fairly common. Young said trees roots tend to die and the trees completely dry out.
“They’re not able to pull up the water as they should in nature, so they dry up and the more brittle they become the more dry they become, and the more dry they become the more fuel they can become for a fire,” Young said. “So over a period of time that dries up and is easily ignited by any ignition source.”
Young said common causes of Christmas tree fires include frayed or damaged festive lights, candles placed in the proximity catching fire to pieces falling off of the tree. Young said space heaters and fire places can start a fire if pine needles fall off the tree near these heat elements.
Young said he recommends removing the tree from the home as soon as possible, as the tree will continue to become a problem.
“Really that’s the best course of action,” Young said. “As soon as the holidays are over it’s really best to get rid of it and recycle it if you can because it becomes more dry as time goes on so the quicker you can get rid of it the better off you are.”
The National Fire Protection Association said fire dangers grow from trees as Christmas moves further in the distance.
Young said keeping heating elements three feet away from the tree and keeping trees watered can help prevent fires.