Courtney Luciana photo
A freshly cut Christmas tree with decorative lights and presents underneath made the living room gleam with festive spirit. Moments later, a crackle was heard: A circuit had overloaded. Then suddenly a spark lit up the bottom of the tree.
Within seconds, vapors and pyrolysis further ignited the fire. The flames traveled up the tree within seconds. Within five minutes, the blaze spread onto the walls and sofa. Roaring black smoke flooded the living room.
After the flames were put out by NHFD.
The New Haven Fire Department rushed to the scene and put out the fire. Smoke and ashes were all that was left once the fire was put out.
Fortunately, this was a staged fire. It took place Friday morning at the fire training academy off Ella Grasso Boulevard.
The NHFD’s Fire Training Division staged the demonstration to inform the public about preventing residential holiday fires.
FIre Chief John Alston (pictured) said fires increase every year around this time due to the cold and the holidays. People leave candles and cooking unattended, fail to use approved surge protectors, and overload electrical outlets. They need to be careful as well to maintain their Christmas trees.
“When you first buy a Christmas tree. you should cut at least a half inch to an inch at the bottom. The tree should be placed in a stand where the tree can receive water and make sure almost everyday that the water is disappearing into the tree,” Alston said. “Keep the needles fresh and from drying out, and falling. The oil inside of the needles causes the tree to burn at an accelerated rate.”
Alston said while the NHFD hasn’t responded to any Christmas tree fires as of yet, the holiday season is just getting started.
Hill Fire Station Engine 11 Lt. Josh Vega said that he has seen plenty of holiday fires in previous years caused from trees drying up. He said that the crew made sure to place presents under the tree in the mock house fire to illustrate how devastating these fires can be.
“I hope that we can go throughout this season without having any fires,” Vega said. “Throughout these types of programs we are making people aware how quickly these fires can ruin a holiday. Any fire is unfortunate, but it’s a little heightened around the holiday season because of the Christmas gifts.”
Supervisor of Fire Investigation Doug Wardlaw said that Covid-19 has increased the risk of fires. People are using fire pits for outdoor gathering. And some people are putting up more decorations than in years past.
“I think that folks are so shut in, that they’re not really thinking things out as they would on a normal basis. There are so many other things on their mind,” Wardlaw said. “During the summer, we were averaging probably two to three structure fires every week as opposed to every month. Now that winter is here, everyone is forced to be inside and still trying to entertain themselves.”
Acting Assistant Fire Chief Raymond Saracco said holiday fires are cyclical. He agreed with Wardlaw that the pandemic has made an impact.
“With people being at home more, we are seeing a slight spike in fires because of the carelessness,” Sorraco said. “It’s human error.”
The NHFD recommends that indoor trees have at least a three-foot radius from any combustibles and furniture. Christmas tree lights should be turned off at night and not left unsupervised.
NHFD responds to the emergency.
Lt. Joseph Sullo (pictured) said that the public should be aware of how quickly these fires become out of control, especially due to modern buildings and the furniture in them. Open-floor plans allow more oxygen and space for a fire to spread around a building in seconds.
“The furniture is absolutely more flammable,” Sullo said. “Comparing living rooms from the ‘60ss to today, by far, the modern-day living rooms go up in flames much quicker.”
The simulation in flames for the second time.
Flames reignited and continued to spread across the room even after Friday’s demonstration fire was put out by the NHFD. The fire had to be doused by the team once again.
“We put out this fire quickly today because we’re right here standing by,” Wardlaw said. “The average response time with the city of New Haven and the multiple firehouses that we have is seven to 10 minutes. Ten minutes. That room was destroyed in five minutes.”