{"id":1076,"date":"2014-12-24T18:20:23","date_gmt":"2014-12-24T18:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/christmas-tree-fire-in-virginia-highlights-importance-of-safety\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:55:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:55:58","slug":"christmas-tree-fire-in-virginia-highlights-importance-of-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/christmas-tree-fire-in-virginia-highlights-importance-of-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas tree fire in Virginia highlights importance of safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/holiday-decor-safety.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2879\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/holiday-decor-safety-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"holiday+decor+safety\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\"><\/a>A family living in Manassas, Virginia have lost their home after a fire that began at the family's Christmas tree. By the time&nbsp;firefighters arrived at&nbsp;the 9600 block of Fairview Avenue on Dec. 21, the fire was already burning heavily. Fire officials believe the blaze started at an outlet where the Christmas&nbsp;tree was plugged in. The family was at church when the fire occurred. Damage from the fire is estimated to total $70,000.<\/p>\n<p>This unfortunate incident highlights the&nbsp;importance of safety during&nbsp;the holiday season.&nbsp;Manassas, Virginia officials urge&nbsp;residents to unplug Christmas lights on trees or homes before leaving their home or prior to going to sleep.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Fire Administration, which is a division of the&nbsp;Federal Emergency Management Agency, has provided a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nfpa.org\/~\/media\/Files\/Safety%20information\/Safety%20tip%20sheets\/christmastreesafetytips.pdf\">list of safety tips for Christmas trees<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you buy an artificial tree, ensure it's labeled as fire retardant.<\/li>\n<li>If buying a traditional tree, choose one whose needles do not fall off when brushed.<\/li>\n<li>Place the tree a minimum of&nbsp;<strong>three feet away from any heat source<\/strong>, including&nbsp;fireplaces, candles, radiators, vents, or lights.<\/li>\n<li>Do not block an exit or doorway with the tree.<\/li>\n<li>Water the tree daily.<\/li>\n<li>Use Christmas lights indoors that have been labeled for that use and for outdoor light, use lights labeled for outdoor use.<\/li>\n<li>Replace broken, worn, or loose lights.<\/li>\n<li>Chain a maximum of three strands of mini lights together and a maximum of 50 screw-in bulbs.<\/li>\n<li>Turn off lights before leaving the house or going to sleep.<\/li>\n<li>Discard of the Christmas tree when it begins to drop needles. Dried trees are a fire hazard.<\/li>\n<li>Bring outdoor Christmas&nbsp;lights inside after the holidays.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of three home Christmas tree fires is caused by electrical failure. One in every five of these fires is caused by a tree being placed too close to a heat source.<\/p>\n<p>Remember to stay safe during the holiday season. The Cochran Firm, D.C. wishes you and yours a merry Christmas!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A family living in Manassas, Virginia have lost their home after a fire that began at the family's Christmas tree. By the time&nbsp;firefighters arrived at&nbsp;the 9600 block of Fairview Avenue on Dec. 21, the fire was already burning heavily. Fire officials believe the blaze started at an outlet where the Christmas&nbsp;tree was plugged in. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Christmas tree fire in VA highlights importance of safety","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1076"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32736,"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions\/32736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cochranfirm.com\/washington-dc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}