For many families that celebrate Christmas, nothing brightens the spirit of the season quite like a live Christmas tree. That freshly scented pine, spruce or fir can really add magic to the holidays. But if you’re not careful, it can be dangerous.
What can go wrong
Every year, Christmas trees are responsible for more than 200 home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. These fires cause an average of six deaths and $14.8 million in property damage per year.
A survey commissioned by Shriners Hospitals for Children, which runs a yearly “Be Burn Aware” campaign, found that many Americans don’t take even the most basic step to keep their homes safe. The survey shows that a staggering 45 percent of respondents don’t water their live Christmas tree daily — even though 70 percent are aware that they should.
Will you set up a live Christmas tree in your home this year? Is your pack, troop or crew one of the hundreds that will sell live Christmas trees as an end-of-year fundraiser? Before you deck the halls, test your smarts with our latest Scouting Safety Quiz.
Visit beburnaware.org to order complimentary tags for your unit’s Christmas tree sales. These can be placed on the trees in advance or provided to consumers at checkout.
Anyone who takes this quiz below will be entered to win a $100 scoutshop.org gift card. (Contest ended December 31, 2018, but you can still take the quiz). Best used with the most updated version of your web browser.
Find answers to other frequently asked health and safety questions at go.scoutingmagazine.org/safetyfaq
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Fake Christmas trees also burn and give off deadly fumes. Your quote, “Every year, Christmas trees are responsible for more than 200 home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. These fires cause an average of six deaths and $14.8 million in property damage per year,” could be about fake trees AND/OR real Christmas trees. Which is it? I think there needs to be a clarification, please. Thanks.
I contacted beburnaware.org for the tree tags. They unfortunately do not have them anymore. They do have a nice printout you can hand out to people that buy a tree, but it is not a tag.