Woman, 69, Is Burned as Tree Ignites

A 69-year-old woman suffered burns over the upper part of her body late Wednesday while trying to put out a fire in her duplex blamed on a tinder-dry Christmas tree.

Capt. Dave Smith, an Orange Fire Department spokesman, said Thursday that Mona McKay of 237 S. Foley Ave. suffered first- and second-degree burns on her head, neck, arms and shoulders from the fire’s intense, radiant heat.

McKay was admitted to the burn unit at UCI Medical Center in Orange where she was listed Thursday in critical but stable condition with injuries over 15% to 20% of her body. First-degree burns are the equivalent of sunburn, while second-degree burns blister the skin.

The fire brought renewed warnings from the Orange County Fire Department Thursday that old Christmas trees should be removed from homes within the next few days, if not immediately. Officials say the lowest humidity in 26 years for December is drying the trees out extremely fast and causing a tremendous hazard.

“It’s like we have been telling everyone, you have got to get rid of those old Christmas trees,” said County Fire Department Capt. Dan Young. “They are one of the most dangerous things you can bring into your home right now.”

Firefighters said McKay, a retired medical technician, was home alone washing dishes about 9 p.m. Wednesday when she heard the crackling of pine needles in her living room.

She tried to put the fire out, Smith said, but lost her eyeglasses in the confusion and could not read the instructions on her fire extinguisher. When the heat and smoke became too intense, she ran to the nearby home of Ismael Zamora, 22, and pounded on the door with the extinguisher.

“I saw a lot of smoke and a ball of fire at her door,” Zamora said. “Her arms had been burned, her forehead was burned and her hair had been singed. She was running around yelling that her dog was in there and she wanted to go back in.”

Neighbors held McKay back, however, and wrapped her in a blanket to keep her warm until paramedics arrived. Her dog, Shiloh, a brown and black shepherd mix, was later found, but firefighters say her cat is still missing.

Smith said the blaze caused about $120,000 in damage to the contents and structure of the two-story duplex where McKay lives. Firefighters said that heat from decorative lights ignited the pine needles on her dry Christmas tree.

According to firefighters, McKay used old-style, colored light bulbs, which are larger and put out considerably more heat than some of the newer, safety-oriented designs. Smith also said that McKay did not put the tree in a pot of water to keep it moist.

“This kind of risk is prevalent around the Christmas season,” Smith said. “But people are getting more and more aware of the hazard, and they are keeping their trees in water longer and using low-heat lights for decoration.”

Thursday afternoon, McKay’s brother, Robert Richards, 67, of Orange, rummaged through the blackened sections of the duplex where his sister had lived for about five years. He was looking for insurance papers and other valuables that might have survived.

Richards said he was worried about his sister’s condition, especially possible lung damage from smoke inhalation, but he fondly recalled the holidays with her. “It was a pleasant Christmas Eve,” Richards said. “She was in very good spirits on that night.”

Fire officials are encouraging the public to take their trees as soon as possible to various city and county recycling centers where the Yuletide greenery is being turned into mulch.

Although there is considerable risk of fire from old Christmas trees, firefighters said that the McKay fire was the only one of its type in the city during the holiday season. But the County Fire Department has reported at least four Christmas-related fires this year.

Young also cautioned against burning discarded gift wrappings in fireplaces because the material is highly combustible and burning particles are easily carried up the chimney and onto the roof if there is no spark arrester.

Correspondent Greg Hernandez contributed to this report.