In winter, firefighters are alerted to an average of thirty house fires a day, which can reach forty at Christmas, the National Directorate General for Disaster Management said, drawing attention to the fact that most Christmas fires are caused by candles.
Their announcement highlighted that Advent wreaths and candles have already caused more house fires this year. If there is no fire-resistant washer under the candle, the burning candle can set the wreath on fire, so it was advised that no one should light the candles if there is no washer under them. It was said to be important that there should be no combustible material near the candles and the Advent wreath that could ignite, and no burning candles should be left there.
It was suggested that no one should use a low quality light string purchased on the market, in an underpass, from a trunk, only an outdoor light string should be placed outdoors. They added that the cord of the light string should not be placed under the legs of furniture, because breaking or rubbing can cause a fire due to a short circuit, and deformed, melted wires or extension cords are also flammable. They asked everyone to unplug the light string from the outlet at night.
A burning candle or sparkler placed on a Christmas tree is also flammable because a dried-out Christmas tree cut in November can easily catch fire, they wrote. They added that it is also important to have at least one and a half meters between the Christmas tree and the heaters, but it is best if there is nothing around the tree in a one meter circle.
Attention was also drawn to the fact that many Christmas fires occur in the kitchen. They pointed out that in this case, no one should try to extinguish the ignited oil with water, but put a lid on the pot and switch off the stove. Even in the case of food that has ignited in the oven, the oven must first be switched off and they should wait for the fire of the burnt food to stop burning, they wrote.
It was also advised that no one should use gasoline, diesel or thinner to light the fireplace, and that the fuel should not be stored next to the equipment.
Open-combustion heating and water heaters can produce carbon monoxide if they do not get enough air, so if people complain of headaches or nausea at home with such equipment, they should call 112 immediately.
Disaster management has asked those who travel to their more distant relatives to prevent traffic accidents and to travel in winter road conditions.
According to their information, on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as in other periods of the year, there are almost two thousand firefighters on duty in the country with about five hundred vehicles.
