Sarnia Fire is offering some winter fire safety tips to help ensure everyone stays out of harm's way this holiday season.
Public Education Officer Mike Otis said Christmas and Thanksgiving are typically two of the busiest days of the year for fires.
Otis said there are a few things to remember if you're going with a real Christmas tree in your home this year.
"They need a lot of water every day, you definitely can't let it dry out, and it's suggested that you get rid of it right after Christmas. A dry Christmas tree goes up in seconds."
Otis also said whether your tree is real or fake, make sure it doesn't block an exit and never use damaged electrical cords or overload any circuits.
Fire Prevention Officer Roel Bus said real trees need more attention.
"There's a lot of people that get in the spirit and get to that point where they're putting up a Christmas tree at the end of November, or even the middle of November, and that tree has been there for a month. You need to water it, but a lot of the times people don't water it and it gets really dry. I understand the allure of Christmas trees, but maybe we can suggest having a fake tree."
Otis said another issue they see during the colder months is people warming their cars inside their garage.
Sarnia Public Education Officer Mike Otis (left) and Fire Prevention Officer Roel Bus (right) with Lucky and Clover.
"Even when you're just warming up your car, pull it outside to let it warm up, because even with your garage door open, cars still produce a lot of carbon monoxide. Unfortunately, we had a real close call the other day, so yeah, it's very dangerous," said Otis. "By having your car in the garage, obviously it's not going to get covered in snow and it's a little bit warmer, and then you pull it outside to warm it up. Because even just running it with the garage open, that CO is still going to get into your house, you're still exposing yourself to it, and you can close your garage door and it's still going to be in there."
Otis said you should always double-check that your car is turned off at the end of the day.
"Cars are so silent now that there's been several cases where people get home, think their car is off, and they go into their house and their car is running the whole time, and people have actually died in their home from that exact reason."
Residents are also reminded to make sure smoke alarms are working properly and to turn off all tree and display lights before retiring for the night.
For more information, follow Sarnia Fire and Rescue's Facebook page and Twitter account.
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