From decorative lights to Christmas trees to menorah candles, fire hazards abound during the holiday season. In fact, more fires occur in December than any other month. Holiday fires cause about 400 deaths each year and injure another 1,650.

Holiday fire prevention
Make sure you have smoke detectors on every level of your home. Remember to change the batteries once every six months. Then follow these tips to avoid disaster:

Lights

• Inspect holiday lights for frayed wires, bare spots and cracks.
• Don't link more than three strings of lights together.
• Check wires often to make sure they don't feel warm.
• Turn off lights when leaving the house or going to bed.
• Use only lights approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

Decorations

• Use only flame-retardant decorations.
• Place decorations away from heating vents.

Candles

• Make sure candles are in stable holders.
• Never place candles on or near a Christmas tree.
• Make sure there is at least a one-foot "circle of safety" around candles.
• Never leave children or pets alone with a lit candle.
• Keep candles from flammable items like curtains and bedding.
• Never leave candles unattended. Extinguish them before going to bed or leaving the house.

Fireplaces

• Remove decorations, greens and papers from the area before lighting a fire.
• Never throw wrapping paper into a fire. It can throw off dangerous sparks, produce a chemical buildup and cause a flash fire.
• Keep a screen in front of your fireplace to prevent embers from escaping and landing on flammable decorations.

Christmas trees
A dried-out Christmas tree is the number one holiday fire hazard.

To illustrate this point, engineers from the National Institute of Fire and Technology set a Scotch pine ablaze. Within five seconds, the tree was engulfed in flames and poisonous smoke reached across the ceiling.

Within 40 seconds, a "flashover" had occurred, meaning oxygen was depleted and deadly smoke had filled the area, causing the room to erupt into flames.

The same engineers cut two inches from the trunk of another fresh Scotch pine, placed it in a tree stand and watered it daily. It was much harder to set this tree ablaze.

Remember the following:

• Dried-out trees can ignite easily. Select a tree with green needles that are hard to pull off. If the tree is freshly cut, needles shouldn't break. The trunk of the tree should feel sticky. Bounce the trunk on the ground. If too many needles fall off, consider it a fire hazard.
• Don't smoke near your tree. If the tree has become dry, ashes can easily ignite it.
• When you get your tree home, cut a few inches off the trunk before placing it in water. Fresh wood absorbs water more easily.
• Keep the tree away from radiators and portable heaters. Never place it near a fireplace. Keep flames and sparks away.
• Keep the tree stand filled. Trees "drink" from two pints to one gallon of water per day.If the water level drops below the trunk, a seal forms and the tree is no longer able to absorb water.
• Never leave the tree lit when you are away from home or sleeping.
• Don't use electric lights on a metal tree. Faulty lights can charge the tree with electricity. This can electrocute someone who touches a branch.
• Take your tree down as soon as the holidays are over. Dispose of your tree as instructed by your community. Don't burn tree branches in a fireplace or wood-burning stove. A burning tree can fill a room with harmful gases.

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External Sources U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC warns of fires, other hazards related to holiday decorating. . Accessed October 09, 2009 U.S. Fire Administration. A season for sharing in fire safety. . Accessed October 09, 2009 National Institute of Standards and Technology. Fire safety for the holidays. . Accessed October 09, 2009

This article was reviewed and updated 08-01-2009.