History of Christmas Trees

• The use of evergreen trees to celebrate the winter season occurred before the birth of Christ.
• The first decorated Christmas was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.
• The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared in Germany in 1531.
• Nineteenth century Americans cut their trees in nearby forests.
• Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United states since about 1850. Until fairly recently, all Christmas trees came from the forest.
• The first Christmas tree retail lot in the United States was started in 1851 in New York by Mark Carr.
• In 1900, large stores started to erect big illuminated Christmas trees.

Christmas Trees and the Environment

• Growing Christmas trees provides a habitat for wildlife.
• Recycled trees have been used to make sand and soil erosion barriers and been placed in ponds for fish shelter.
• Christmas trees remove dust and pollen from the air.
• Artificial trees will last for six years in your home, but for centuries in a landfill.
• 59 percent of real Christmas trees harvested are recycled in community programs.
• An acre of Christmas trees provides for the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.

Artificial / Fake Trees

• In 2002, 21% of United States households had a real tree, 48% had an artificial tree and 32% had no tree.
• Most fake (artificial) trees (85%) in the U.S. are imported from China.
• Real Christmas trees are involved in less than one-tenth of one percent of residential fires and only when ignited by some external ignition sources.

Christmas Tree Numbers

• Thirty-four to thirty-six million Christmas trees are produced each year and 95 percent are shipped or sold directly from Christmas tree farms.
• 28 million Christmas trees were sold in 2001.
• More than one million acres of land have been planted in Christmas trees. The industry employs over 100,000 people. Many Christmas tree growers grow trees on a part-time basis to supplement farm and non-farm income.
• More than 2,000 trees are usually planted per acre. On an average 1,000-1,500 of these trees will survive. In the North, maybe, 750 trees will remain. Almost all trees require shearing to attain the Christmas tree shape. At six to seven feet, trees are ready for harvest. It fighting heavy rain, wind, hail, pests and drought to get a mature tree.
• Christmas trees take an average of 7-10 years to mature.
• 100,000 people are employed in the Christmas tree industry.
• 98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms.

Source:www.pickyourownchristmastree.org

The following news release, on dangerous toys, is from U.S. PIRG, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

According to  the U.S. Fire Administration, a cooking fire continues to be the most common type of fire in U.S. households. It comes as no surprise that there is an increased incidence of cooking fires on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve Day, and Christmas Day. The good news is  these fires are preventable.

The following fire safety tips are from the U.S. Fire Administration:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

• If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you’re cooking.

• Stay alert! To prevent cooking fires, you have to be alert. You won’t be if you are sleepy, have been drinking alcohol, or have taken medicine that makes you drowsy.

• Keep anything that can catch fire – potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, towels, or curtains – away from your stove top.

• Keep the stove top, burners, and oven clean.

• Wear short, close-fitting or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking. Loose clothing can dangle onto stove burners and catch fire if it comes into contact with a gas flame or electric burner.

• Plug microwave ovens and other cooking appliances directly into an outlet. Never use an extension cord for a cooking appliance, as it can overload the circuit and cause a fire.

• When cooking, stay in the kitchen and keep an eye on the stove.

If You Have a Cooking Fire

• When in doubt, just get out. When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire. Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after you leave.

• If you do try to fight the fire, be sure others are already getting out and you have a clear path to the exit.

• Always keep an oven mitt and a lid nearby when you are cooking. If a small grease fire starts in a pan, smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan (make sure you are wearing the oven mitt). Turn off the burner. Do not move the pan. To keep the fire from restarting, leave the lid on until the pan is completely cool.

• In case of an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed to prevent flames from burning you or your clothing.

• If you have a fire in your microwave oven, turn it off immediately and keep the door closed. Never open the door until the fire is completely out. Unplug the appliance if you can safely reach the outlet.

• After a fire, both ovens and microwaves should be checked and/or serviced before being used again.

Nuisance Smoke Alarms

• If a smoke alarm sounds during normal cooking, you may need to move it farther away from the kitchen (according to manufacturer’s instructions) and/or install a smoke alarm with a pause button.

• If your alarm already has a pause button, push the pause button, open the door or window, and fan the area around the alarm with a towel to get the air moving. Do not disable the smoke alarm or take the batteries out!

• Treat every smoke alarm activation as a likely fire and react quickly and safely to the alarm.

Turkey Fryer Safety Tips

• Use turkey fryers outdoors a safe distance from buildings and any other combustible materials.

• Never use turkey fryers in a garage or on a wooden deck.

• Make sure fryers are used on a flat surface to reduce accidental tipping.

• Never leave the fryer unattended. Most units do not have thermostat controls. If you do not watch the fryer carefully, the oil will continue to heat until it catches fire.

• Never let children or pets near the fryer even if it is not in use. The oil inside the cooking pot can remain dangerously hot hours after use.

• To avoid oil spillover, do not overfill the fryer.

• Use well-insulated potholders or oven mitts when touching pot or lid handles. If possible, wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from oil splatter.

• Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and be careful with marinades. Oil and water do not mix; water causes oil to spill over causing a fire or even an explosion hazard.

• The National Turkey Federation recommends thawing the turkey in the refrigerator approximately 24 hours for every five pounds in weight.

• Keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher nearby. Never use water to extinguish a grease fire. If the fire is manageable, use your all-purpose fire extinguisher. If the fire increases, immediately call the fire department for help.

Source: Underwriters Laboratories

Burns and Scalds

• Most burns associated with cooking equipment, cookware, and tableware are not caused by fire or flame. In 2009, ranges or ovens were involved in an estimated 17,300 thermal burn injuries seen in U.S. hospital emergency rooms. (Source: NFPA)
• Microwaves are a leading cause of scald burns. Be extra careful when opening a heated food container. Heat food in containers that are marked ‘microwave safe.’ Since foods heat unevenly in the microwave, make sure you stir and test the food before eating.

Protecting Children from Scalds and Burns

Children under five face a higher risk of non-fire burns associated with cooking than of being burned in a cooking fire. (Source: NFPA) You can help prevent these injuries by following a few basic tips:

• Keep children at least 3 feet away from where food and drink are being prepared or carried.

• Keep hot foods and liquids away from the table or counter edges.

• Use the stove’s back burners if you have young children in the home.

• Never hold a child while cooking, drinking, or carrying hot foods or liquids.

• Also, teach children that hot things burn!

Have a Happy and a Safe Thanksgiving from “Can Do” Street!

You have been faithful to your daily outdoor running schedule from last spring until now. But, the days are getting colder, and darkness is coming earlier each day. There will be icy roads and bad weather conditions interrupting your daily running.

You are concerned that you will lose the benefits of daily running during the winter months. You may not be able to run every day due to weather and road conditions, but you can still run in clear winter weather.

Here are some safety guidelines tips from the Road Runners Club of America for winter weather running:

• Avoid headphones or earplugs so you can hear potential threats, such as cars or falling branches.
• Don’t run when the weather is icy. If you do go out, make sure your shoes have plenty of traction.
• As the days get shorter, wear bright or reflective gear, so motorists can see you.
• Dress in layers.
• If you start shivering, it’s a sign that your body is losing heat. Don’t ignore this potential sign of hypothermia.
• Know where to find shelter on your route.
• If you drive before you start running, keep a blanket and change of clothes in your car.

According to an article recently published by HealthDay News, which was based on findings from researchers in Seattle, carbon monoxide gas can pass easily through drywall, and poison those living inside a home, apartment or condo. The report is published in the Aug. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.HealthDay reports:

Researchers shared that this finding highlights the need for having carbon monoxide alarms in your home, since even checking your own appliances won’t guarantee that the lethal gas might not seep through your walls from another source.

“What this study tells me is that carbon monoxide does not stay put in a building, that the barriers between apartments or condos will slow down carbon monoxide, but do not stop it,” said Dr. Eric Lavonas, associate director of the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver. “Therefore, the best way to protect your family is to have a working carbon monoxide alarm in your home,” according to Lavonas, who was not involved with the study.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas found in car exhaust and in fumes from fuel-burning sources such as generators, charcoal grills, gas stoves and wood fireplaces. “Any source of combustion produces carbon monoxide of some degree, no matter how clean-burning your appliances are,” said study author Dr. Neil Hampson, with the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.

Unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning kills between 400 and 500 people per year in the United States. The only form of protection is a carbon monoxide alarm. “Carbon monoxide is undetectable to human senses. You cannot see it, you cannot smell it, and you cannot taste it, so you do not know you’ve been poisoned until you get sick and start getting headaches, vomiting or pass out,” Hampson explained.

Twenty-five states require residences to have these alarms, but 10 of these states now allow exemptions for homes that have no internal sources of carbon monoxide. Many experts are concerned that these exemptions will lead to an increase in accidental poisonings, particularly in multi-family dwellings, where walls between homes are shared.

To prove that carbon monoxide can go through walls, researchers placed varying thicknesses of drywall in a Plexiglas container to observe how quickly the gas could travel through the walls. Because the pores in the wallboard are 1 million times larger than a carbon monoxide molecule, the gas passed easily through the porous barrier. Painted drywall slowed down the gas only a bit.

Only alarms can detect carbon monoxide gas once it is in a home, but far too many homes either don’t have one or have one that isn’t functioning because the batteries have died or have been removed. According to Lavonas, only 30 percent of American homes have a working carbon monoxide alarm. In North Carolina, a state that has a law requiring the devices, only 67.8 percent of homes do, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2012.

There have been many cases of poisonings in homes where carbon monoxide alarms were found, “but they either had no battery in them or they hadn’t even been taken out of the package,” Hampson said. “In addition to changing the batteries regularly, it’s important to check the expiration date on the alarm itself, he added.”When you change your batteries, you should look at the back of the alarm to see when the expiration date is. It’s either five or seven years, depending on the manufacturer,” Hampson explained.

Unlike smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms may be placed anywhere, from the bottom of the wall to the ceiling, and only one is needed per level, preferably located just outside the sleeping areas. Some alarms can be plugged directly into an electrical outlet or hard-wired, but both Hampson and Lavonas caution that if these are used, they should have a battery back-up. Most carbon monoxide poisonings occur during blackouts, when power is out, they noted.

If your alarm sounds, leave your home immediately, and call the fire department.

To learn more about carbon monoxide, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.