The City of Tallahassee

TFD Wants Tallahassee to Keep the Wreath Green - UPDATE

Annual Fire Awareness Program Begins the Holiday Season

December 22, 2020

December 22, 2020 – Update

The Tallahassee Fire Department (TFD) continues to urge residents to remain diligent in fire safety practices. From Dec. 7-21, TFD responded to seven residential fires that resulted in $52,000 in damages. This means a combined total of 13 green bulbs have been replaced with red bulbs on the wreath at Dorothy B. Oven Park. The wreath, which is part of the annual “Keep the Wreath Green” program, serves as a visual reminder of the importance of home fire safety during the winter holiday season. For every residential fire, TFD replaces a green bulb with a red one, and these 13 red bulbs represent a total of $202,600 in combined damages. As the holiday season continues and the cold weather persists, keep fire safety top-of-mind and visit Talgov.com/FireSafety for a variety of safety tips related to space heaters, candles, cooking and more.

December 7, 2020 – Update

This winter holiday season, the Tallahassee Fire Department (TFD) urges residents to remain diligent in their fire safety practices. Recently, TFD has seen an increase in calls for service, particularly related to residential fires. Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 6, TFD has responded to six residential fires. This means six green bulbs have been replaced with red bulbs on the wreath at Dorothy B. Oven Park. The wreath, which is part of the annual “Keep the Wreath Green” program, serves as a visual reminder of the importance of home fire safety during the winter holiday season. For every residential fire, TFD replaces a green bulb with a red one, and these six red bulbs represent a total of $150,600 in damages just in the first week of the program. As the holiday season continues and the cold weather persists, keep fire safety top-of-mind and visit Talgov.com/FireSafety for a variety of safety tips related to space heaters, candles and more.

The Tallahassee Fire Department has placed its beautiful holiday wreath at Dorothy B. Oven Park once again this season. The Keep the Wreath Green program is in its 11^th year and serves as a visual reminder of the importance of home fire safety during the winter holiday season.

During the next five weeks, the TFD will replace each of the 50 green bulbs with a red one every time a residential fire occurs in our area. The wreath will be on display at the park, which is located at 3205 Thomasville Road, through Jan. 4, 2021.

“The holiday season is unfortunately one of the busiest times of the year for home fires,” Tallahassee Fire Chief Jerome Gaines said. “We want to encourage the members of our community to be safe by providing the wreath as a visual reminder.”

The Keep the Wreath Green program began in 2010. By the end of that year’s holiday season, 41 bulbs had been changed to red. Last year saw the lowest number of red bulbs, with only eight residential house fires occurring during the holidays. Below are statistics from the TFD Keep the Wreath Green program:

2010 changed 41 red bulbs
2011 changed 38 red bulbs
2012 changed 22 red bulbs
2013 changed 16 red bulbs
2014 changed 15 red bulbs
2015 changed 14 red bulbs, representing $1.3 million in residential damage
2016 changed 11 red bulbs, representing $480,000 in residential damage
2017 changed 15 red bulbs, representing $887,500 in residential damage
2018 changed nine red bulbs, representing $308,000 in residential damages
2019 changed eight red bulbs, representing $467,000 in residential damages

Here are 10 fire safety tips to help residents keep the wreath green in 2020:

Test all your smoke alarms and replace batteries, if needed.
Keep children away from cooking areas by enforcing a "kid-free zone" of three feet around the stove.
Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking. If you’re using a fryer or grill outside, make sure it is attended as well.
Keep flammable objects away from heat sources. This includes keeping common kitchen items (like oven mitts, food packaging, towels and more) away from your stovetop.
Heat your home only with equipment designed and intended for heating.
If using a real tree in your holiday decorations, water it daily.
Discard light strings that are worn or broken.
Always unplug holiday lights before leaving the house or going to sleep.
Place candles and candleholders on a non-flammable surface to catch the melting candle wax. Never leave lit candles unattended.
Use a fire screen to keep embers and logs from escaping when using a fireplace. Make sure all embers are fully extinguished before turning in for the night.

The Tallahassee Fire Department wishes everyone a warm, safe holiday season. Stay connected to the department via its Facebook and Instagram accounts or by visiting Talgov.com/Fire.

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