Christmas is coming...let's get it right

I know I am late already! the high street shops have been full of 'the best and newest craze toys' for months now and it seems like Christmas actually comes around every 10 months and not the 16 it did when I was a kid. However, safety has a presence in all we do...Christmas is no exception.

As a small boy I realised how much I loved 'fire', it was almost an obsession if I am honest, then as I began developing my fire fighting skills through the Royal Air Force and later as an Instructor I realised I had gotten into something I had a genuine passion for. Teaching people who were either 'unfamiliar' or just plain 'frightened' of what fire is and what it can do gives me as much a buzz now as it did way back when. I have enjoyed employing many different techniques to empower someone into using fire extinguishers, wearing breathing apparatus, entering Confined Spaces when they have claustrophobia or simply tackling complex Command & Control live fire scenarios...sometimes however, the best way to make a point is to watch a very short video.

This video has been re-jigged several times for quality purposes...the poignant element is the 'speed' and 'intensity' of which a fire commences and takes hold in what is potentially an 'everyday household' Christmas tree, the rest of the room...and possibly the rest of the home. I stress, there were no accelerants (petrols, diesels, oils) added to this room, what you see is what you get when a fire breaks out on a 'dry tree' (low moisture content). Studies conducted by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) show significant difference between 'Dry' trees and 'High Moisture' content trees when involved in fire so well worth a further watch via the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZk4vIXCnc8

Please do not be tempted to buy 'cheap tree lights' or place naked flames anywhere near your tree.