Now that the Thanksgiving holiday has passed, local families will begin to furnish their homes with Christmas lights and other decorations… that is if they haven’t already.

The Christmas holiday time is typically seen as a time of year filled with jolly attitudes and good cheer, but if you’re not careful, it also comes with an increased possibility of home fires according to Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf.

Many of those home fires occur as a result of poor Christmas tree maintenance, so here is Kempf offering some preventative advice.

“Make sure that you’re using the proper type of lights and watching the electrical situations around those trees.  Of course the natural trees will get dried out so keep those watered.  As far as the artificial trees, make sure you (again) the proper type of lights… that they’re ‘UL’ or ‘ETL’ approved lights that are supposed to be used on Christmas trees.”

Kempf advises residents to choose decorations that are flame resistant or retardant as the simplest way to prevent a home fire.  He also reminds us to keep any decorations that can burn at least a foot away from lit candles or any other heating source.