East Cleveland leader. [volume] (East Cleveland, Ohio) 1942-1970, 1950-12-07
'Care|essness
Causes Most
YuIe Fires

Scarcely anything can be more
pathetic than a household which
has been wrecked by a holiday
fire. Unless it is a child who has
been burned in the fire that de-
stroyed its Christmas gifts and
it's home.
Between the goth of December
and January 7th. a plague of
fires sweeps over Ohio year after
year. Many of these fires are the
result of hazards which exist only
during the holiday season; of
carelessness that would not be
tolerated at any other season.
Christmas truly is the RED letter
day for fire.
The Greater Cleveland Safety
Council offers these suggestions
to help assure your home against
a fire during the holiday season.
THE TREE: Select as fresh a
tree as you can, keep it moist and
cool until you are ready to set it
up. The longer the tree is in your
home, the more dangerous it be-
comes. Cut off the old dried end
of the stub at least an inch above
the original cut. Cut it on an an
gle to expose as much wood as
possible to soak up water. Set the
stub in a pan or tub of water and
secure the tree firmly so it will
not topple over. Be sure there is
water in the container all the
time the tree is up. Set your tree
up we'll away from radiators and
the fireplace. Keep it away from
doors or passageways that would
be needed for exits in case of
emergency.
LIGHTING: Do not use wax
candles near any flammable ma
terial. Depend on electric lights.
Be sure that all electric decora-
tions and tree strings bear the
Underwriters Laboratories label
of approval. If you have had the
lights for a couple Of years, check
them over carefully for worn in
sulation, bare metal or loose con-
nections. Do not put too many
strings or decorations on one out
let. If fuse blows, pull the plug
on all decorations before replacing
the fuse. Check everything care
fully before plugging it in. Keep
all light bulbs from contact with
paper, cloth or anything else that
will burn. Pull the plug on all
decorations and lights before you
go to bed at night or before you
leave the house.
DECORATIONS: Select decora-
tions that are made of non-flam-
mable materials: glass metal or
asbestos. Do not use plastics
where they will be exposed to
flame, heat or contact with light
bulbs. Use non-fammable blankets
to represent snow beneath your
tree. If you use greenery for dec
orations, keep it well away from
heat. 1t will get pretty dry in a
few days. Do not use branches
from the tree for a fireplace dec
oration.
GIFTS Select gifts which are
not flammable as far as possible.
Avoid play clothes or negligees
made Of pile fabric, they burn
very quickly when ignited; and
they do not need to touch flame
to get ablaze. Heat is enough to
set them off. Toys that require
alcohol, gasoline or kerosene are
extremely hazardous. Purchase on
ly safety film-acetate Stockton
movies. Be sure the protector
bears the UL label Of. approval.
This label should also appear on
any electrical appliance or toy.
Do not operate electric trains,
science outfits or fuel toys be-
meath the tree.
WRAPPING GIFTS: Som e
wrappings that are available
flame rather quickly. Do not
smoke while wrapping packages.
Keep a metal wastebasket handy
to catch the scrap paper, ribbon
clippings, etc. Get waste materials
out of the house as quickly as
you can. Do not burn wrappings
ia the fire place. Dispose of them
in the incinerator or in small
quantities in your furnace.
IN PUBLIC PLACES: Avoid
smoking in crowds or gatherings,
so your smoke can not ignite
decorations, or the clothing of
others. Use electric candles rather
than the wax variety for candle
light services and pageants.
AFTERWARD: Do not keep
your tree up too long, until it gets
tinder dry. Get it out of the house
as soon as you can. Do not burn
tree branches in the fire place or
furnace.