Each year, holiday fires are responsible for injuring approximately 2,500 people. There are several very simple yet lifesaving recommendations related to the safe taking down and disposal of Christmas trees. After the holidays, you will most likely want to dispose of your tree and there are a few things that you should know regarding the disposal of your tree.
After the holidays, you should take down your tree, and you definitely shouldn’t leave your tree in your home for more than one month. The longer a Christmas tree stays up, the more hazardous it becomes in terms of being a fire hazard.
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As a general rule, you should dispose of you tree when it begins dropping needles.
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Be sure to remove all of the ornaments, lights, tinsel, and other decorations, including the stand.
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You should make sure that you don’t leave the tree in your house or store the tree in your garage. A dry Christmas tree can start burning out of control within only 30 seconds of being ignited.
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You should never burn a Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood-burning stove because firs and pines contain a great deal of sap and turpentine oils, which can ignite explosively because they are so flammable. They can also lead to the buildup of creosote deposits in your chimney, which can result in a fire in the chimney. Additionally, the needles are like tender and can burn very quickly and intensely.
- Flocked Christmas trees will need to be cut up and disposed of with your regular solid waste.
Many cities have free drop-off locations for trees and some cities will even come to pick them up. Christmas trees are typically picked up about 2 weeks after Christmas. Some cities will require that trees be cut up in to 4-foot lengths, which may require you cutting your tree in half. If you are unsure of when and how trees are picked up in your city, you can call your city to verify this.