To avoid burning: Are real candles allowed on the Christmas tree?

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Thousands of fires break out in Switzerland every year during the Christmas and New Year period. According to the Accident Prevention Advisory Center (BFU), many of these can be traced back to wax candles. However, with awareness and modern technology, it is possible to celebrate much more safely without sacrificing comfort.

Forgotten candles are one of the most common causes of fires. The easiest way to protect yourself is to switch to LED lights, which are often difficult to distinguish from real candlelight. There are also real candles with LED lights, even in staggered heights like an advent wreath.

If the technical variant is still not very romantic for you, you should definitely pay attention to the fixed candle holders on the Christmas wreath or Christmas tree. Also, candles should not be left unattended, even if you leave the room for a short time.

Young children should not be left alone with candles. Playing with fire or lighting candles is just as dangerous as accidentally knocking over the candles. Lighters and matches should also be kept out of reach of children. Due to the risk of accidents, pets such as dogs and cats should not be left alone in a room lit by candlelight.

Candles should not be placed in places where there are strong drafts. They also don’t belong near easily flammable objects like curtains or wrapping paper.

Christmas trees using real candles are at risk due to the large number of candles and the branches gradually drying out throughout the Christmas season. If you still do not want to do without it, you should always light candles from top to bottom. According to the insurance industry’s advice, these should be deleted from the bottom up.

The Christmas tree should be in water if possible because dry fir tree in the living room is more flammable. Fire risk increases as Advent progresses and trees and regulations become increasingly dry, according to fire departments. There should also be a bucket of fire extinguishing water or a hand-held fire extinguisher nearby. Gifts should not be placed directly under a Christmas tree with lit candles.

Overloaded power strips can overheat and catch fire. Especially at Christmas, new gifts or cooking appliances such as raclette grills often cause existing consumers to connect to multiple plugs, which can overload them. To avoid this, the total consumption of the devices needs to be summed up and compared with the maximum power of the power strips. In no case should more than one plug be inserted into each other, as this significantly increases the risk of overload.

Smoke detectors beep to alert you if something starts burning unnoticed. Those who wish to delete should only do so themselves, as long as they do not endanger themselves. Otherwise, it is recommended that you close the fire room door, leave the apartment and call the fire brigade on 118.

Household contents insurance covers the damage caused to the facility by fire or extinguishing water. Burnt Christmas gifts are also covered. Home insurance covers any damage that may occur to the building. Damage should be reported as quickly as possible. (AFP)

Source : Blick