Fire that Killed 7 Reminder of Live Christmas Tree Hazard

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One of the deadliest Christmas tree fires in U.S. history occurred 25 years ago next month in Canton, when Martin Dell’Orco and six of his children were killed when the family Christmas tree caught fire and quickly spread through their home.

The fire started about 11:10 p.m. on Dec. 22, 1990. Dell’Orco made futile attempts to remove the burning tree from the house, according to reports from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and The New York Times, while his wife, Debbie, called the fire department.

She and one of the couple’s nine children, a boy, 6, survived, but Martin Dell’Orco died when he went back into the inferno to rescue six sleeping children, ages 4-12, who also perished. Two other children, ages 16 and 14, were not at home.

The tragedy is a painful reminder in southeast Michigan of just how quickly Christmas tree fires can spread and how deadly they can be.

By 11:15 p.m., when firefighters arrived at the ranch house, it was fully engulfed.

“A Christmas tree fire can develop and spread throughout an entire home almost instantaneously,” FEMA wrote in its report. “In this fire, the tree was dry, and overheated or defective lights provided the ignition source. This fire reached overwhelming proportions at lightning speed and left the family helpless to survive.”

The investigation showed that the suspected ignition source was overheated or defective Christmas tree lights purchased that year and used for the first time, but a significant contributing factor was the unusual dryness of the Christmas tree.

This year, an estimated 25 million live trees will be purchased, many of them this weekend.

The state fire marshal’s office encourages Michiganders buying live trees to always choose live trees, water them daily and keep them away from heat sources such as fireplaces, radiators candles and heat vents.

Artificial trees can pose dangers, too — make sure that they’re labeled “flame retardant,” which indicates the tree will resist burning and should extinguish quickly.

The U.S. Fire Administration says that one in three home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems and one in six are caused by a heat source too close to the tree. Christmas tree fires are more likely to cause death than average home fires, officials said, and the risk is higher with natural than artificial trees.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the National Fire Protection Association recommend keeping these things to keep in mind when selecting a tree and setting it up:

• Test the tree for freshness. The trunk should be sticky to the touch, needles should be green and hard to pull from the branches. Bounce the tree on the ground. If many needles fall off, it’s probably a dried out, old tree that can pose a fire hazard.
• Look for other indicators of dryness or deterioration. Indicators might include: excessive needle loss, discolored foliage, musty odor, needle pliability, and wrinkled bark. If none of the trees on the lot look fresh, go to another lot.
• Measure your space. Be sure you know what size (height and width) you need before heading to the tree lot or farm. Measure the ceiling height in the room where the tree will be displayed. The trees in the field look small, and it is easy to overbuy.
• Once you’ve got the tree home, make a fresh cut and remove one or two inches at the base to allow it to absorb water.
• Place the tree in a non-tip style holder with wide feet. Displaying trees in water in a traditional reservoir type stand is the most efficient way of maintaining freshness and minimizing needle loss problems. Use a stand with an adequate water holding capacity for the tree. As a general rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. Devices are available that help maintain a constant water level in the stand. Make sure the stand fits the tree, and avoid whittling the sides of the trunk down to fit a stand. The outer layers of wood are the most efficient in taking up water and should not be removed.
• Use only holiday lights that have been approved by a testing agency such as the Underwriters Laboratories and have a UL-tested label on them. LED lights are cooler and use less electricity than conventional lights.

Additional holiday fire safety tips:

• Don’t use any strings of lights that are frayed or broken; throw out damaged sets.
• Use no more than three standard-size sets of lights per single extension cord.
• Use lights that produce low heat, such as miniature lights, to reduce drying of the tree.
• Place the tree as close to an electrical outlet as possible so that cords are not running long distances. Do not cover up cords with rugs to hide them — this increases the fire hazard.
• Keep trees at least three feet away from major sources of heat (fireplaces, heaters, heat vents, direct sunlight). Lowering the room temperature will slow the drying process.
• Remove your tree soon after the holidays. Recycle it using your community’s pickup day if available. Don’t leave it in the house or garage. Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood-burning stove.
• Be sure your smoke alarms are in working order, have a fire extinguisher readily available and know how to use them. Have a prepared and practiced home escape plan that will help insure your survival in a home fire.
• Check the stand daily to make sure that the level of water does not go below the base of the tree.
• Do not overload electrical circuits.
• Always turn off the tree lights when leaving the house or when going to bed.

Below, watch this video from the National Fire Protection Association showing how flammable a dry Christmas tree can be as opposed to one that is watered regularly. This test was conducted by the National Fire Protection Association and Underwriters Laboratories

» Patch editor Deb Belt contributed to this report.