Government Christmas safety video turns apocalyptic
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission cautions against letting your happy holidays turn into a fiery hellscape.
Have you watered your Christmas tree lately? Better get on that. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has just posted its annual video highlighting holiday hazards, and this one focuses on dried-out trees.
The video shows two similarly decorated rooms, one housing a watered tree and the other a dry tree. The safety experts set fires at the bases of the trees and watched as the room with the dry tree turned into an apocalyptic inferno.
The watered tree held up very well to the onslaught, while its unfortunate kin did its best to cosplay as the Human Torch.
A fire crew on site put the fires out. "A dry Christmas tree burns faster than newspaper," the agency warned.
The video comes from a demonstration performed during a CPSC safety press conference Thursday on the dangers of holiday decorating. "There are about 200 decorating-related injuries each day during the busy holiday season," said CPSC acting chairman Ann Marie Buerkle.
The CPSC recommends checking for tree freshness, looking for fire-resistant artificial trees and taking extra precautions with candles.
No holiday is safe from the CPSC's vision of festive horror. A more complete video from the press conference also shows how a Hanukkah menorah candle can set a curtain on fire.