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A video of a Christmas tree going up in flames within seconds has gone viral on TikTok, netting 1.3 million views at the time of this writing.
The clip, shared by TikTok user @oscargoldman8, was posted with a caption reading: "Real Christmas trees could be deadly."
A message overlaid on the video said: "Fully watered real Christmas tree. Taken down after 4 weeks in our living room. Just one spark! Be careful this Xmas."
The video showed a man lighting a fire at the bottom of a Christmas tree outdoors. Within seconds, the entire tree was up in flames. All of its leaves burned off in less than two minutes.
According to a December 2020 report by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), between 2014 to 2018, fire departments in the U.S. responded to an average of 160 home structure fires per year that began with Christmas trees.
@oscargoldman8 Real Christmas trees could be deadly
♬ original sound - cringeville6
As a yearly average, these fires caused two civilian deaths, 14 civilian injuries and $10.3 million in direct property damage. Three-quarters of the Christmas tree fires occurred in December or January, according to the report.
"The longer a natural tree is kept up after Christmas, the more likely it is to dry out and ignite. Some January fires may have occurred after the tree was taken down," the NFPA said.
Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was the leading cause of Christmas tree fires in the NFPA survey, involved in 45 percent of the reported Christmas tree fires at home. Among the other top causes were the involvement of decorative lights (17 percent), wiring or related equipment (15 percent), cords or plugs (seven percent) and other lamps, bulbs or lighting (6 percent).
According to the December 2020 report: "Although the fire experience data does not specifically distinguish between natural and artificial trees, an analysis of the type of material first ignited suggests that an average of 40 Christmas tree fires per year began with the ignition of something plastic, while 80 per year began with some type of wood or 'natural product, other.'
"Using these categories as proxies, fires involving natural trees outnumber fires involving artificial trees by roughly two to one," noted the national fire safety group.
The NFPA warned: "Almost one third of home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems. Although Christmas tree fires are not common, when they do occur, they are more likely to be serious. A heat source too close to the tree causes more than one in every five of the fires."
The national body advised Americans to get rid of their tree after Christmas or when it is dry. "Dried-out trees are a fire danger and should not be left in the home or garage, or placed outside against the home."
The latest viral video has shocked some users on TikTok, while others saw it as a reminder to be careful this Christmas season.
In a comment that got 567 likes, user Pickynix wrote: "The speed of that [shocked face emoji] horrifying," to which the original poster explained that the video is "in real time."
BellaKF219 wrote: "That escalated quickly," while user duanebarracloughn said: "really trees are deadly inside houses. go up very fast."
User cinnamonmango who wrote: "thanks for this, I light candles and put them on our tree, maybe I'll stop doing that now," in a comment that got 101 likes.
User It's Omz said: "Thanks will make sure i don't set mine on fire just in case."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment. The latest video has not been independently verified.
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About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more