Dry Christmas tree to blame in Oxford Mills fire which left four dead
Posted Jan 20, 2021 09:30:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A dry Christmas tree spread flames throughout an Oxford Mills home so fast that the four people inside had no chance to escape, according to the Ontario Fire Marshal.
A spokeswoman for the marshal's office says two people were having a couple of friends over on January 10, when an old Christmas tree caught fire and destroyed the home.
“Dry Christmas trees are an extreme fire hazard,” says Kristy Denette. “The investigator in this situation actually compared it to the equivalent of basically pouring five litres of gasoline into your home and lighting a match.”
Denette says investigators aren't sure exactly how the tree caught fire, but most times it's caused by faulty electrical.
“In addition to making sure your tree is well watered and disposing of it shortly after the holidays, we recommend everyone take a look at their string lights when they take them out of storage.”
Denette says lights can be recalled and homeowners may not know it unless they search Canada's health and safety website.
Earlier, on December 28, she says a dry Christmas tree caught fire in Halton Hills, killing one woman. In that case, Dinette says, the woman's partner was able to escape through an upstairs window, but she was caught inside and died.
