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Show Holiday season decorations are traced as fire hazard NORTHBROOK, ILL. Christmas is a time for decorating the tree, crackling fires, toys wrapped up in brightly colored packages, gaily colored strings of lights and families gathered together to celebrate the season. Christmas also is a time for fires, many of which will be traced back to Christmas trees and decorations, and many of which can be avoided. "In the hustle and bustle of the season, it's easy to forget common sense safety rules," warns Robert Seelbach, Underwriters Laboratories vice president and chief electrical engineer. "Many fires are caused by damaged light strings, overloaded circuits and improper use of decorations," says Seelbach. The National Fire Data Center reports approximately 82,000 fires killed or injured more than three thousand people and caused about 340 million dollars in ' property damage last December. Overloading a circuit with too many lights also can cause a fire. "Read manufacturer's instructions carefully and don't use more than the recommended number of lights on one circuit," says Seelbach. |
