Holiday Fire Lesson Came Too Late for One Household

As Bob Ellsworth was about to go to bed in his Balboa Island home Monday night, he heard his fire alarm sound off, opened his bedroom door and saw his stairway ablaze. Sparks from Ellsworth’s fireplace caused a dry, 15-foot Christmas tree to catch fire, causing $40,000 in damage.

Ellsworth and two other members of his household escaped by unfurling a rope ladder from a second-floor window and climbing to the ground, a Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman said.

Tuesday--less than 24 hours after the blaze, the Orange County Fire Department set fire to a Christmas tree in a mock living room to demonstrate the hazard that Ellsworth had discovered the hard way.

The mock living room was a three-sided plywood structure that had been erected in a vacant lot next to Fire Station 36 on East Yale Loop in Irvine.

“Christmas trees can be one of the most dangerous things in your house if they’re not taken care of,” said Patti Range, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Department.

“They turn into a fire hazard if they dry out, especially if they are left near a furnace or fireplace,” Range said.

In four seconds, the tree was consumed by fire. A minute later, the living room was enveloped in flames.

“And this happened in a room without carpeting, wallpaper or other flammable items you find in the typical living room,” Range said.

She said people can lessen the risk of holiday fires by keeping their trees in water, which helps prevent them from drying out.

“And you want to keep your tree away from heat sources and away from sliding doors, or other exits you might have to use in an emergency,” she said.

Last year, 15 Christmas tree-related fires were handled by the county Fire Department from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15, Range said. The fires caused $217,000 in damage.

Many of these fires happened after Christmas, Range said, when people discarded wrapping paper and trees by burning them in fireplaces.

“Trees have a lot of oil and they burn very quickly,” Grange said. “Paper burns fast, and because it is lightweight, it floats up through the chimney before it burns up all the way. Without a chimney arrester, paper will go up on the roof and set it on fire.”

Fire detectors should also be checked, Range said. “Put a new battery in it New Year’s Day, and make this an annual event.”

Range added: “Most people don’t die from fire, but from smoke and poisonous gas. Surveys show that 87% of the people who die from fires could be saved if they had smoke detectors in working condition.”

People who leave their old Christmas trees on lawns with the trash also create fire hazards, Range said.

County fire officials are providing six sites where people can take their trees to be burned by firefighters under controlled circumstances.

Tree-disposal sites include:

- San Juan Capistrano--The end of La Novia Avenue, where trees will be collected from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 2., when mass burning of trees is scheduled.

- Rancho Santa Margarita--The corner of Tomas and Adventura, where trees may be left anytime on Jan. 2 and until 4:30 p.m. Jan. 3, half an hour before a planned tree burning.

- Los Alamitos--Los Alamitos Race Track, 4961 Katella Ave., where trees may be dropped off from Dec. 31 until the 6 p.m. tree burning Jan. 3.

- Tustin--The lot surrounded by Moulton Parkway on the south, the Santa Fe-Southern Pacific railroad tracks on the north, Harvard Avenue on the east and Jamboree Boulevard on the west, where trees will be collected from Dec. 28 until the 7 p.m. tree burning Jan. 3.

- Irvine--Corner of Alton Avenue and East Yale Loop, where trees may be dropped off from Dec. 28 until the 7:30 p.m. tree burning Jan. 3

- Yorba Linda--A collection site will be announced after Christmas, and information about the location will be available by calling (714) 744-0496. Trees may be dropped off from Dec. 28 until the tree burning scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 3.