TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Fire Department announced this week that no red bulbs were added to its giant wreath to indicate residential fires.
"We had zero residential fires and we did not have to add any red bulbs to our wreath this past week," said TPD Engineer Sarah Cooksey. "This keeps our combined total at six red bulbs, totaling $791,500 in property loss."
Cooksey said TPD wants to remind the community to follow safety guidelines for using heaters and holiday decorating.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - This past week, the Tallahassee Fire Department added two more red bulbs to its giant wreath at Dorothy B. Oven Park.
TFD's Keep the Wreath Green program raises awareness about residential fires during the holidays.
Red and green are your typical Christmas colors but the Tallahassee Fire Department wants less red on this wreath. So far this holiday season, TFD has responded to six residential fires, including this one in the city's Killearn neighborhood.
A dog died in the fire and the damage is estimated at $200,000.
The fire department started its keep the wreath green program in 2010. The number of residential fires has dropped each year with just 11 in 2016. But the amount of damage from residential fires this season is already more than that from last year: $791,500 in 2017 compared to $480,000 in 2016.
With just over three weeks left in the campaign, the fire department is urging residents to pay special attention to how they heat their homes and cook their food.
"Around the holidays, there are heating-related fires, there are holiday decoration-related fires, as well as cooking fires," said Engineer Sarah Cooksey. "We've seen an increase in cooking-related fires this past week."
To help prevent future fires, TFD has run a number of public service announcements and offers these tips:
"Obviously, when you're cooking, make sure that you're attending your stove," said Cooksey. "Don't let children run around and leave your food unattended. Watch your pets closely. Don't think it's okay just to run into the other room while you have food on the stove. You really want to watch those things closely."
The wreath campaign runs through Jan. 12. There are 50 bulbs on the wreath. The record number of red bulbs was in the campaign's first year with 41.
