City of Knoxville - Safety After Christmas

KNOXVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT (KFD)

KFD

Safety Tips

After Fires
After Christmas
Burns
Carbon Monoxide
CPR
Electrical Devices
Fire Drills
Fire Extinguishers
Fireplace Safety
Flammable Fabrics
Flammable Substances
Hazardous Materials
Heat Stress
Heating Safety
High Rise Building Fire Safety
Holidays Fire Safety
Home Fire Escape Plan
Home Fire Hazards
Kitchen Safety
Lightning Safety
Matches & Lighters
National Fire Prevention Week
Poisons & Harmful Substances
Residential Sprinklers
Smoke & Your Safety
Smoke Alarms & Detectors
Stop, Drop & Roll
Vacation, Camping & Outdoors

WHAT TO DO AFTER CHRISTMAS

Don't Let Your Holidays Go Up In Smoke! Dispose of your tree immediately after the holiday!

Thirty seconds is all it takes for a dry Christmas tree to be consumed by fire. Each year, Christmas trees cause over 100 fires nationally, resulting in death, injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. Many people will leave their trees up through the New Year — but fire doesn't take a holiday. The Knoxville Fire Department urges everyone to remove the trees to avoid a tragedy.

The first rule of tree disposal: Never put the tree or branches in a fireplace or wood burning stove! The fire could extend beyond the fireplace or stove and leave your home in ashes.

Recycle Your Tree

The City of Knoxville will collect trees from December 26th through January 12th. When the holidays roll around, more info about locations will be posted on the city's web site.

When taking your tree to a drop off location:

Remove all decorations.

Remove the tree stand, metal stakes and nails.

Leave UNBAGGED trees only at the specified parking lot site within the park. There should be signs indicating where to place your tree.

Deliver single trees only.

Use Your Tree As Garden Mulch

Using your tree as mulch could help your garden grow! You can either grind the entire tree into small pieces (tree chippers are available for rent at equipment rental stores), or cut off the main branches of the tree and reserve the trunk for use as firewood. Tree branches make a nice, light mulch that won't compact when wetted - the way denser organic mulches do.