Monday, December 15, 1986/The Battalion/Page 5
Officials: Christmas trees need extra care
Decorations double as fire hazards
By Elaine Gruy
Reporter
“Deck the halls with boughs of
holly, fa la la la la ... . ”
But be careful with that holly
around open flame or intense heat
this Christmas, local fire department
| officials warn.
The risk of fire is greater during
the Christmas holidays, they say, be-
I cause people get carried away and
hang too many lights as decoration,
buy their Christmas trees too early
and don’t pay attention to where
| Christmas packages are placed.
People want to get into the
I Christmas spirit, College Station Fire
Marshall Harry Davis says, but they
need to slow clown and watch what
[they’re doing.
Although potential risk exists,
[there is no evidence locally that
[more fires occur during the holi-
[days, Davis says. He adds, however,
that there probably are more fires
nationwide.
“You can’t expect an entire nation
of people who like to fix up fancy
decorations to be entirely safe,” Da
vis says.
However, the statistics citing holi
day fires can’t be blamed solely on
Christmas, Bryan Fire Inspector
JamesJones says.
“The cold weather always seems
to bring in more calls,” Jones says.
“It’s the first time a lot of people
start firing up their fireplaces. We
get several calls each year for fires
that start in people’s chimneys.”
Davis, along with other fire de
partment employees, says he recalls
only one or two College Station fires
that started specifically because of a
dry Christmas tree or bad wiring.
Clyde Gowen, Bryan Fire Depart
ment deputy chief, says he can re
member only one time when Bryan
“You can’t expect an en
tire nation of people who
like to fix up fancy deco
rations to be entirely sa
fe.”
— College Station Fire
Marshall Harry Davis
firefighters were called to put out a
fire started by a tree.
“It was the only call for a tree fire I
ever went on,” he says, “but we put it
out fairly quick. It really teaches peo
ple to watch how many lights they
put on their tree.”
The wiring that strings lights to
gether also should be checked be
fore they are used, Gowen warns,
because frayed wiring can be dan
gerous. And, he says, although they
look nice, lighted candles should
never be used on trees.
Jones says people who plan to use
outside lighting as part of their
Christmas decorations should make
sure the wiring is weatherproof.
“Nasty things could happen when
rain or snow touch a wire that is
meant to be indoors,” Jones says.
Artificial trees, Gowen says, are
the safest alternative to live trees.
Live trees are cut early, he says, and
people often don’t think to keep the
tree watered.
“Most of your holiday hazards
stem from live trees,” Gowen says.
“When you buy a tree that’s been sit
ting in a lot since September, it’s not
going to be real fresh.”
He recommends the bottom of a
live tree be cut so that fresh wood
can soak up water.
Another bit of advice Jones gives
is to keep packages away from heat.
When stringing lights on trees, peo
ple should stop before they reach
the lower branches. If the lights even
come close to touching packages,
Jones says, a problem could occur.
Davis says that in an effort to keep
members of the community safety
conscious, the College Station Fire
Department sends out a newsletter
focusing on Christmas hazards dur
ing December. The fire department
also sponsors a program on KAMU-
TV that reminds the community of
potential hazards with hints on how
to keep Christmas trees out of dan
ger.
“Maybe College Station citizens
are just more conscientious than are
other communities,” Davis says. “W-
hatever the case, we just want to
keep them that way.”
Jones says that although the
Bryan Fire Department has no simi
lar program now, it is planning a
year-round program which will pro
mote fire safety.
Officer shot by comrade after entering drug bust setup
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DALLAS (AP) — An undercover po
liceman who was critically wounded by an-
pther officer during a drug bust may have en
tered the apartment thinking a fellow
xdiceman was in trouble, authorities said.
Ronald Cox, 46, who underwent eight
liours of surgery for gunshot wounds, was
listed in critical condition Sunday at Parkland
Memorial Hospital, said a hospital spokeswo
man who asked not to be identified.
Cox wasn’t supposed to be inside the east
Dallas apartment, Dallas homicide investiga
tor Lt. A.L. McAllister said.
Dallas officer Darren Coleman found Cox
inside pointing a pistol at someone lying on
the floor in the living room and ordered Cox
several times to drop his gun, Addison police
chief Rick Sullivan said.
Cox was wearing casual clothes, and appar
ently didn’t identify himself as a police offi
cer. When Cox turned toward Coleman while
still holding the pistol, Coleman shot him four
times, investigators said.
Cox was not wearing a bulletproof vest, a
violation of regulations, Sullivan said.
Cox may have entered at that time, think
ing the officer was in trouble, McAllister said.
Red tide,
drought hurt
oyster crop
SEABROOK (AP) — Oyster
lovers will find their cherished
delicacies difficult to get this holi
day season because of a toxic red
tide and bad weather, said a
Texas seafood dealer.
Emery Waite, a Galveston Bay
seafood dealer with 150 oyster
boats under contract, said a
lengthy drought last summer that
hit an area from Louisiana to Vir
ginia is one factor contributing to
cuts in the oyster crop this year.
In addition, many prime oyster
bays along the Texas Gulf Coast
have been closed to commercial
harvests because of heavy rainfall
and red tide, which consists of po
tentially toxic one-celled orga
nisms that concentrate in shellf
ish.
Waite and owners of other
boats along the Gulf Coast and
Atlantic Seaboard say the short
ages mean income losses for
them. But the extent of the de
cline is unknown because the
1986-87 oyster harvest is still un
der way.
The closing of Texas oyster
beds is likely to affect the East
Coast as well, Waite said.
‘A lot of people who think they
are eating Chesapeake Bay
oysters are actually eating Texas
oysters,” he said.
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•DENOTES DOLBY STEREO
WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO
CALL YOUR BOYFRIEND?
a) When the president of Phi Gamma Delta
asks you to Saturday night’s Fiji Formal.
b) After raquetball class, to tell him that the
instructor with the Australian accent and
those blue eyes did wonders for your serve.
V
c) When you just feel like telling him you
miss him after all.
Maybe you shouldn't tell him everything that's going on. But if
you still care about him, why not call and whisper some sweet
things he'll never forget?
Like why you call using AT&T Long Distance Service,
and why you trust AT&T's high quality service and
exceptional value.
When you tell him that AT&T gives you immedi
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And telling him you can count on
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All of which will proba
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AT&T
The right choice