With the holidays this month, fire safety reminders are shared to help ensure a safe season on the Central Coast
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – As the holiday season hits it full stride, the public is being reminded about basic safety reminders to help ensure a healthy and joyous time this month.
On Thursday, Hanukkah begins at sundown and lasts eight days until sundown on Dec. 15. Christmas is on Monday, Dec. 25, followed by Kwanzaa the next day Dec. 26, and New Year's Eve on Sunday, Dec. 31.
As those holidays approach, Santa Barbara County Fire Department public information officer Capt. Scott Safechuck is urging community members to be mindful about taking proper safety measures.
"As we head into the holidays, some of the tips that we have are specific to lighting the menorah and our Christmas trees," said Safechuck. "A menorah, you have open flames. Open flames can cause a fire that can rapidly spread through the house, so having a fire extinguisher nearby, paying attention to those light candles, making sure the cat, the dog or excited kids aren't going to knock over that menorah, and in the event that it does get knocked over, you have a safe way to extinguish the fire and the candles."
As for Christmas trees, they are already inside and decorated in many homes, so Holloway's Christmas Trees owner Carl Holloway points out a few easy tips to help keep them as fresh and healthy as possible.
"At the lot wherever you get your tree, The Home Depot or Holloways, it doesn't matter, make sure the trees are pliable and almost succulent," said Holloway, who owns the 61-year-old farm in Nipomo. "They shouldn't be brittle. They shouldn't fall apart. That's the first thing. Then you need a fresh cut. Take it home, get it in a stand, get it within water within an hour time. It's very critical."
Once inside a home, Holloway offered several other useful advice to keep a tree as green for as long as possible.
“Cut the tree and take it home, get it in a stand, get it within water within an hour," said Holloway. “Do not put the tree in front of a sun bearing window where the sun shines in through that window and gets on the tree. It's just like a magnifying glass. That's probably the worst thing you can do if you have a window like that, you need to drape the windows. No candles around the tree. Heater vents right over the top of a tree. Just don't do it, that could be disastrous.”
Safechuck added that people need to also be aware that even though the start of winter is now only just over two weeks away, fire danger is still very much a concern.
"We're in the week of the anniversary of the Thomas Fire, so we're not out of fire season," said Safechuck, noting Dec. 4 marked the sixth anniversary of the start of the devastating Thomas Fire in 2017. "We are expecting a dry week without rain this week, and hopefully as we get later into this year, and close to the end of this year, we're going to get more rain, so until then, people still need to be vigilant and be prepared with their ready, set, go brochures and and the knowledge that's in there."
