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The Daily Tar Heel

‘Keep the Wreath Green’ campaign raises awareness of holiday-season fires

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Chapel Hill Fire Station I has displayed a wreath on the face of the firehouse. For eaach fire, they will replace

The Chapel Hill Fire Department hopes to “keep the wreath green” this month to raise awareness about holiday-season fires.

On Thursday, the department put a wreath with green lights on display in front of Fire Station No. 1 on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. For every residential fire that occurs during December, one of the green bulbs on the wreath will be replaced with a red bulb as part of the Keep the Wreath Green campaign.

“When they see that red bulb on our wreath, it’s just a reminder that fires do happen in our community,” Deputy Fire Chief Matt Lawrence said.

Capt. Mary Blevins, assistant fire marshal, said she hopes people will notice the wreath and take extra care this month.

“We just know, historically, that around the holiday season, fire risk increases because of candles, trees, paper and heat sources,” she said.

The campaign was started by former Capt. Rodney Watson in 2000, and the fire department has continued with the campaign every year since, Blevins said.

“Any time we bring people’s attention to fire safety, we consider that a success,” she said.

Lorraine Carli, spokeswoman for the National Fire Protection Association, said many fire departments around the country do a little extra to advocate fire safety around the holidays.

In Chapel Hill last year, there was one fire during December, leaving the wreath with one red bulb. The fire was caused by faulty wiring in an apartment building.

Lawrence said there are typically one or two town residential fires each month, but that number tends to increase in December.

In past years, there have been two to four residential fires during the holiday season, and that number includes everything from small kitchen fires to more destructive house fires, he said.

While not many fires are started from Christmas trees, those that do are serious because of how quickly they burn, Carli said.

Besides its wreath campaign, the fire department also provides tree tags to tree lots in town.

The tags provide information on how to keep trees healthy and safe, including tips like making a fresh cut on the tree and always keeping water in the tree stand.

“I think it’s a good, informative way to get the message out,” said Greg Cima, owner of Cranberry Tree Farm.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.

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