Christmas tree safety advisory: State Emergency Service highlights holiday precautions

The State Emergency Service is advising Ukrainians to follow simple rules when putting up Christmas trees indoors.

This topic was discussed during a briefing at Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform.

Roman Rudak, Deputy Director of the Department for Emergency Prevention at the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, pointed out the main aspects to pay attention to so that citizens could stay safe during the holidays:

– The Christmas tree must be positioned at a distance of at least 0.5 meters away from heating devices and other potential fire hazards;

– The Christmas tree itself must be securely placed on the floor – either in a container with sand, or on a stable metal stand;

– Avoid using with defective lights, or those purchased from street venders without a proper quality certificate;

– Under no circumstances should the Christmas tree be decorated with flammable objects, such as: cotton wool, paper, sparklers, candles, etc.;

– It is forbidden to obstruct escape routes with the Christmas tree, for example by placing it in near the door, if it interferes with the exit from the room;

– Under no circumstances should Christmas tree lights be left unattended;

– Children should not be allowed to turn Christmas tree lights on and off unsupervised.

According to Roman Rudak, in the event of a Christmas tree catching fire, the primary actions should be the following: first of all, call the fire department, immediately unplug the lights, if there is no threat to life, if possible, knock down the Christmas tree on the floor and cover it with a thick cloth.

It is recommended that containers with sand and primary firefighting tools, such as fire extinguishers, be placed in the room with the Christmas tree.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news