A fire chief has issued a stark safety warning to families ahead of Christmas after decades of dealing with the devastating impact of festive house blazes.
David Farries is the fire service’s deputy assistant chief officer, responsible for protecting communities across the north of Scotland.
But in his previous role as a specialist fire investigation officer, he worked behind the cordon searching for vital clues to explain how tragedies unfolded.
And the veteran, who has more than 20 years’ experience under his belt, is urging people to be vigilant about fire safety.
He said: “When you go to a home that’s had a fire and there are Christmas presents lying out, then that is going to stay with you.
“Sadly that has happened to me on numerous occasions and it’s harrowing when I think back to such incidents.
“The families had been preparing for the festive season and suddenly didn’t know what they were going to do for Christmas.
“But more than that – they didn’t know how to get past such a truly awful and frightening experience, because it is frightening.
“There’s nothing worse than responding to a house fire with a Christmas tree lying out and kid’s presents under it. It pulls on the heartstrings when you see a family affected in that way.”
There were 527 accidental house fires across Scotland between December 11, 2017 and January 15 this year.
And during the course of both months there were 17 accidental house fires caused by lights – including fairy bulbs.
Mr Farries added: “Christmas presents can always be replaced, but lives can’t and believe me, having dealt with the effects of devastating fires on far too many occasions, I know what I’m talking about.
“We’ve embarked on this massive campaign with home fire safety visits and getting into people’s homes to help make them safer.
“But it’s when people drop their guard that things can happen – maybe after a night out, or when you are cooking after being out.
“If you are of the frame of mind where you feel that it’ll never happen to you, I’d reiterate that it absolutely can.
“You can be the most safety conscious person in the world, but accidents happen.
“We need to bear that in mind and understand while numbers are lower, for the individuals affected, fire is as devastating as it ever was.”
Mr Farries has urged everyone take advantage of the service’s free home safety visits, which have helped reduce the number of house fires by more than 40% in the past decade.
To find out more, visit www.firescotland.gov.uk/your-safety/hfsv-form.aspx.
‘Excessive Christmas decorations created dangerous circumstances’
The fire chief also attended several dwelling fires caused by Christmas decorations.
And while he is keen for everyone to enjoy the festivities, Mr Farries is urging homeowners to prioritise safety and be aware of the hazards which can include flammable decorations, naked candles and alcohol consumption as well as distraction whilst cooking.
He said: “I spent a few years as a fire investigation officer and we saw regular evidence of excessive Christmas decorations, where people had created dangerous circumstances.
“They hadn’t done it intentionally – they did it because it looked nice and they wanted to feel ‘Christmassy’, but ultimately they ended up with a fire in their living room.
“I’ve seen examples of massive amounts of decorations overdrawing electrical supplies or sitting too close to naked flames such as candles.”
Mr Farries continued: “I remember one particular incident in Edinburgh, where it looked like the National Lampoon house, and all the decorations and lights had completely overdrawn the supply.
“That led to a fire in the electrical cupboard, in the fuse box.
“You need to measure your safety against the type of fun you want to have.
“There are plenty of products that are safe, but some of the traditional Christmas decorations are quite thin and can spread quite rapidly.
“People need to be conscious of that – and that is where we are most willing to step in and assist.”
