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Christmas trees, smoke alarms, & space heaters: How to prevent holiday fires

From space heaters to brittle Christmas trees, Rural Metro Firefighters are working to keep your celebrations from going up in flames.

There's only 14 days to go until Christmas, and Rural Metro firefighters are working to keep your holiday celebrations from going up in flames.

Here are a few ways they say you can make sure your holiday cheer isn't ruined.

One way to prevent a house fire is watering your live Christmas tree consistently. Firefighters say adding water every day is key to helping reduce its fire risk.

Most tree stands can hold about a gallon of water, and trees can soak up that much up water in one day.

Another thing to do? It’s worth checking the lights on your tree every year to ensure you don’t have any exposed wires, especially if you are using lights that are a couple of years old.

And you should never use an oven or a kitchen stove to heat up your home.

If you’re using a space heater, keep it at least three feet from any objects. That includes furniture and pets. However, Rural Metro said it's not a good idea to use an extension cord to add distance -- because the heater needs to be plugged directly into an outlet and extra cord length will create a tripping hazard or wear down the insulation.

If there's an "automatic" setting on the heater, turn it off when no one is home. It could turn on at any moment, creating a potential fire hazard. Experts say you should slowly increase or decrease the temperature every day so you don't overwork the system.

Also, make sure your smoke alarms are in proper working order. They can cut your risk of death from a home fire by half when properly used. Three out of five home fire deaths result from properties without working smoke alarms, the National Fire Protection Association says.

Plus, having an escape plan to get out of your home further improves your odds of survival in case you do face disaster.

Overall, firefighters recommend you prepare for the worst to avoid as many problems as possible this winter.

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