Fire chief issues warning after Christmas tree fire destroys home

Many Christmas trees are extremely flammable at this time of year, Ottawa's fire service is warning after a Christmas tree fire destroyed a home and damaged a neighbouring house on New Year's Day.

No one was injured in the fire that broke out around midnight on Scout Street, near the intersection of Merivale and Baseline roads, but the damage was estimated at more than $500,000, including$70,000 damage to the house next door.

Platoon Chief Paul Whitney said people shouldn't under-estimate how fastsuch fires can spread.

"A fire in a Christmas tree I'm not even sure whether it could safely be fought or even extinguished by a civilian because when they go, they'll burn very, very rapidly," he said. "In this case, it spread to curtains and on to other building contents to the point of full involvement withinfour minutes."

The couple and two children who lived in the two-storey home were waiting for the stroke of midnight and the start of 2008 when they heard a noise thatdrew their attention to the burning tree, Whitney said.

"All they could do was get up and exit the house. There was no way they could even get back in and retrieve a wallet it was that fast."

Firefighters received the call three minutes after midnight. By the time they arrived four minutes later, the flames werereaching out the doors and windows, Whitney said.

Firefighters do not know what started this particular fire in the tree, Whitney added.

But he warned that many people stop watering their trees by New Year's Eve, and the trees become dangerously dry.

"They should be aware that they have a very combustible object sitting right front and centre in their house and they should be extra cautious about making very sure that they have no ignition sources around it," Whitney said, adding that families should ensure their smoke detectors are working and their electrical wiring is safe.

He also recommended keeping a fire extinguisher in the home.