APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – As the winter holiday season wraps up, local fire departments are looking back at the results of their Holiday Wreath Programs.
“The idea is to raise awareness about the increased risk of structure fires, the increased risk of house fires around the holiday season,” said Appleton Battalion Chief of Fire Prevention and Public Education, Derek Henson.
This year, Appleton hung two red bulbs on their wreaths, representing the two fires they responded to between their holiday parade in November and January 1st.
“We had two fires, unfortunately. But that’s still a really good number for us, below our average. Over the past couple years we’ve averaged three or four,” Henson told WTAQ News. “It almost got to our record, which was one back in the first year of the program. But that’s still a really good number for us at two, we’re very pleased with that. We just hope that we raised awareness by hanging those wreaths this year.”
Henson part of the reason behind the awareness campaign is to reintroduce even the simplest reminders about safety, during a season that can be distracting and busy.
“We talk about relatives coming in, and we have a pandemic going on. You’re bombarded from all different sides with all of this different information, and sometimes it’s easy to pass over simple safety messages,” Henson said. “Simple safety messages, such as never cook unattended. You’re going to be cooking more around the holidays, you’re going to probably have more distractions than any other time of the year. Don’t leave your pot to boil over, don’t leave the item in the oven for too long, don’t walk away from your cooking.”
