By Matthew Baughman
The Leader-Telegram
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Local fire agencies are aiming to achieve a major objective this holiday season: to keep the wreath green!
More specifically, the Eau Claire, Altoona and Township Fire Departments each placed five-foot wreaths out in front of their fire stations as part of their “Keep the Wreath Green!” initiative. By advocating for safe practice and keeping an eye on local incidents involving fire, the stations hope for a safe, happy and memorable holiday season.
“It is a program that goes from Thanksgiving day to New Year’s Day in an effort to reduce or eliminate all holiday fires, home fires or business fires,” said Jason Knecht, fire inspector for Eau Claire County’s Fire Prevention Division. “Fires typically have spiked around the holidays because people are stringing up Christmas lights, they bring in real trees into their homes, they are using candles more, more families get together and they are cooking more. In an effort to reduce those holiday fires back in ‘95, the Eau Claire County Fire Chief’s Association put together this program.”
Starting around Thanksgiving, each bulb on the station’s wreaths will glow green. For each structure fire that fire departments respond to and causes structural damage to a home or business during the season, their respective agency will replace one of the green bulbs with a red one. A single bulb on the wreath is white, which they said is a practice followed since 2008 where the white bulb serves as a reminder of all those serving in the armed forces throughout the world.
Their goal with this is to advocate safety and prevent both fires and tragedies caused by them.
When the program first started in 1995, Knecht said their department in Eau Claire responded and ended the year with 11 red bulbs. That number is much lower when compared to recent years, however.
“Last year, for 2023, we only had one, which is great,” he said.
But in prior years, their department saw a spike in structure fires. Their wreath had five red bulbs in 2022 and four red bulbs in 2021. Like last year, 2020 ended with only one red bulb and 2019 was the most recent year in which they had zero red bulbs.
“Right after Covid we had a little bit of a spike, but we went down to one last year and hopefully we can have zero this year,” said Knecht.
As the fire departments work to prevent fires throughout the region, Knecht said there are many ways in which community members can stay safe, especially around the holidays.
“If you are going to cook a meal for you or your family, make sure you don’t get distracted,” he said. “Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires right now — about 52 percent of all home fires are from cooking, where people get distracted. They get distracted on their phones, they think they are going to send just a quick text or answer a quick phone call… and all of the sudden, 20 minutes goes by or they smell smoke and it’s too late.”
Additionally, Knecht said it is smart to not string up lights and chain extension cords for decorations that are constantly powered for several days or weeks. While LED lighting and cords have gotten better for handling electrical loads, he said it is only meant to be temporarily used on occasion and not continuously for that long.
Knecht also said to be careful with real trees, as once they get dry and start to drop pine needles all over the floor, it becomes a fire hazard. The best solution is to keep the tree watered, he said.
Finally, he said make sure to be safe for those who try to deep fry turkey for holiday dinners; make sure the oil is not overflowing, the turkey is not frozen and cooking is done outside.
As the seasonal holidays for families approach in the coming days and weeks, residents are encouraged to keep an eye on the wreaths as they aim for an enjoyable and memorable holiday season.
“People drive by it and they look at it, and hopefully it keeps fire prevention in the back of your mind,” said Knecht. “Hopefully we won’t have any red bulbs.”
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