The Most Horrible Fires Happen on Christmas

It’s a common story, and sooner or later in the career of a news reporter, you’ll cover it: the Christmas Fire.

Sometimes, everybody – even the pets – make it out. Sometimes.

No one wants a house fire on Christmas, yet many tempt fate with their holiday activities. Assistant Fire Chief John Elwood doesn’t want to send his men and women to your house, so he offered these holiday tips.

“The number one cause of house fires in Sarasota County is unattended cooking,” he said. “You think you can multi-task, so you step away from the stove for a minute. Except it isn’t a minute. And then there’s a fire.”

It’s a case of not enough cooks burning the kitchen down. If you’re cooking over the holidays – who isn’t – keep an eye on the number-one cause of a house fire — your unattended cooking stove.

The second-leading cause of fire in Sarasota County is … candles. They are festive, and their flickering light creates illusions of times past. They are also an open flame eager to set any flammable substance alight. So keep candles away from flammable substances, especially the super-dry needles of your “we bought one early” Christmas tree.

Elwood suggests you extinguish candles when you leave the room, but even he knows that’s overkill.

“But blow them out before going to sleep, that’s for sure,” he said. And keep your eye on the kids. They’re charmed by candles and think candles are a wonderful toy. Teach them differently, so they can grow up to have kids.

If you’re displaying a cut tree, check the water supply daily at the base. It will make an important difference to the freshness of the tree, and its desire to drop pine needles. A little water goes a long way to keeping the tree fresh and less flammable.

Elwood is concerned about burns as well as fire. Enter the turkey fryer. Combine several gallons of boiling oil with a frozen-solid turkey and you get … an explosion of scalding oil. And a trip to the Tampa General Hospital's Regional Burn Center.

Defrost the turkey. Before you fire up the burner, put the defrosted turkey in the kettle and add the appropriate amount of oil. Remove the turkey, then heat the oil and slide the bird back in for cooking. Otherwise it’s cooking with hand grenades.

Is there more? Of course. Is there a fire extinguisher in your kitchen? Everybody knows how to use it? Check. No frayed cords on your holiday lights? No loose sockets? Check. Ashtrays for smokers, so they won’t have to put their butts in the sofa? Check. Unplug lights before going to bed? Always.

And lastly, make sure some bird or squirrel didn’t make a nest in your chimney while you weren’t looking. Makes for a big surprise when you light the Yule log in the fireplace.

We spoke with Assistant Chief Elwood six days before Christmas, and he was delighted to report there were no holiday-related fire calls in Sarasota County so far.

“We are pleasantly surprised,” he said. “It can be a tragic time of year with the potential for loss of life and possessions. But it’s been quiet.”

Knock wood.