COLUMBUS — With the end of the holidays, the state fire marshal is urging residents to safely discard any real Christmas trees remaining in their homes.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, about 36% of Christmas tree fires nationwide occur in January. The state fire marshal warns that these fires can grow rapidly, release a large amount of energy and cause significant damage in seconds.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, almost 40% of Christmas tree fires happen in January.
“The longer that real Christmas trees stay inside homes, the higher the risk of fire becomes since it doesn’t take much at all to ignite a tree, especially one that’s been setting out for several weeks,” State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon said in a press release. “Dried-out trees present a real fire danger because they burn fast and hot, which means if they catch fire, they will likely ignite anything and everything around them. That’s why we strongly urge Ohioans to start 2025 off being fire safe and avoid keeping old trees in their homes, garages or even on porches.”
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Ohioans are encouraged to check with their local communities for responsible disposal options, such as tree recycling and pickup/drop-off programs. Additionally, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources suggests that real Christmas trees can be repurposed as habitats for wildlife.
For more information, visit the National Fire Protection Association’s website to view a video demonstrating how quickly a Christmas tree fire can spread and how intensely it can burn.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ohio State Fire Marshal: Don’t keep dried Christmas trees in home
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