A live Christmas tree is a joy to have in the home.  It is beautiful, pre-assembled, and it smells wonderful!   However, these innocent trees are a potential fire hazard in the home.  Did you know that live Christmas trees are responsible for 13 million dollars of property damage each year? If a live tree comes into contact with a spark, it can be fully engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds!  Don't believe me?  Check out the Incredible Speed of a Live Christmas Tree Fire published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Here are a few safety tips to avoid this disaster in your home:

1.  Purchase the freshest tree possible.  The needles should be bright green and difficult to pluck.  If it is already shedding easily, it is not a good choice.
2.  Before putting the tree in the stand, cut off about 1/2 an inch from the bottom of the tree so that it can absorb water easily.
3.  Put the tree in a location far away from heat sources such as fireplaces, space heaters, candles, heat vents and even high-wattage lights.
4.  Use Christmas lights that have been testing for safety.  If you have any damaged or questionable light strands, throw them away.  Better to spend $10 on new lights than $10,000 on home repair.
5.  Keep it well watered!  Dry wood burns faster and hotter than wet wood, so make sure that your tree is never thirsty.
6.  Turn the Christmas tree lights off when you leave the house or go to bed.  In the unlikely event that your lights to cause a fire, you want to be there to minimize the damage.