‘Keep the Wreath Green’ fire safety campaign underway in Cape Coral

The Cape Coral Fire Department has launched its 12th annual “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign.

Cape Coral firefighters have placed a wreath illuminated with green bulbs at Fire Station 4, located at 2007 Santa Barbara Blvd.

The campaign details that if a preventable fire, such as cooking, smoking, holiday decorations or candles, occurs between Dec. 1 and Jan. 1, one of the green bulbs will change to red.

The Cape Coral Fire Department provided a list of safety tips for this holiday season to minimize the risk of unnecessary fires.

Decorations

• Choose holiday decorations carefully, using only flame-resistant, flame-retardant or non-combustible materials.
• Keep decorations away from heat sources. Nearly half of the fires that began with decorations were caused by their proximity to a heat source.
• Keep decorations away from windows and doors that might be needed as a means of escape.

Candles

• Keep candles at least 12 inches away from decorations or other combustible materials. Candles start two out of every five home decoration fires.
• Never leave candles unattended. Extinguish them when you leave the room.
• Use sturdy candle holders that won’t tip over.

Lights

• Use only lights listed by an independent testing laboratory and pay close attention to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Closely inspect all holiday lighting before use to ensure all wires, bulbs and connections are safe.
• Discard any lights with exposed wires, broken insulation, cracked or missing bulbs or other defects.
• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords are not damaged.
• Turn off all light strings and decorations before leaving home or bed.

Christmas Trees

• Before purchasing an artificial tree, be sure the manufacturer identifies it as fire-retardant.
• When choosing a live Christmas tree, look for signs of freshness by lightly pulling branches through your closed fist. Fresh trees should retain their needles during this test.
• Have the tree lot operator provide a “fresh cut” by removing 1-2 inches from the base of the trunk.
• Immediately place the tree in water and add water daily. Keep a close check on the dryness of the tree and remove the tree when needles easily fall off.
• Make sure the tree is not blocking an exit and is at least three feet away from any heat source, such as fireplaces, space heaters, radiators, candles, heat vents, or lights.

Cooking

• Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the U.S. After Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are the peak days for home cooking fires.
• Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling, or broiling. Keep anything that can catch fire away from the stovetop, and turn it off when you leave the kitchen, even temporarily.
• When simmering, boiling, baking, or roasting food, stay at home and check on it frequently; use a timer as a reminder if necessary.
• Create a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food and drinks are prepared or carried.

Smoking

• Ask smokers to smoke outside.
• Use large, deep ashtrays and wet cigarette butts with water before discarding.
• Keep matches and lighters up high, away from children.