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Operation Red Wreath Promotes Fire Safety

Go Columbia Mo

 This holiday season, the Columbia Fire Department is draping a wreath on its door filled with red lights for Operation Red Wreath. The wreath is a visual reminder to citizens to stay safe and practice fire safety this holiday season. For every fire that occurs in Columbia, the department will switch a red light bulb to white.

The number one cause of fires, both nationally and locally, is unattended cooking, says Gale Blomenkamp, Battalion Chief of the Boone County Fire Protection District. He explains that the increase in activity in households during the holiday season is a big contribution to fires.

“Distractions, again, can become greater,” Blomenkamp says. “People just need to understand when they are cooking; they need to focus on doing that. Remember to turn your stove off, don’t leave things unattended.”

Columbia Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief, Brad Frazier, says candles, lights, live trees, fireplaces, and alternative heat sources should all be under close supervision.

“Make sure there’s not an excessive amount of needles that come off the tree,” Frazier said. “Cut the trunk to give it a fresh, open area before you put it in a tree stand and then you want to water them daily and make sure they don’t dry out.”

The goal of the wreath is to encourage citizens to come together and use safety precautions to keep it lit red. As of now, the wreath does not display a white bulb.

The wreath went up on December 4 and will hang outside of the Fire Department until January 6.