Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 21, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The Yellowknife fire department wants you and your family to bask in the shimmering, warm glow of your Christmas tree this holiday, and not your burning house.

Sherry Rudkevitch stands with one of the last two real Christmas trees on the Arctic Farmer lot in the Kam Lake subdivision. - Amanda Vaughan/NNSL photo

"There is nothing wrong with a real tree," said Yellowknife deputy fire chief Chucker Dewar, before listing off tips to make sure your only holiday fire is crackling in the hearth.

Watering your real tree regularly is a must.

"Keep the moisture levels up," he said. "Use safe, indoor-approved lighting and ornaments." He added these tips were just the beginning.

An informal poll on the streets of downtown showed that out of 70 Yellowknifers, 37 preferred real trees, 29 people declared artificial is where it's at, and four were unable to decide.

That means many people are still taking the time to choose a real tree for their homes each year.

"A lot of people still like the tradition of a real tree," said Sherry Rudkevitch, of Arctic Farmer Landscaping.

Rudkevitch owns the business with her husband, and her brother-in-law, Darwin Rudkevitch, who told Yellowknifer that Arctic Farmer gets their trees from Saskatchewan. Apparently, that can make them safer.

"The trees are frozen when they are cut down, they stay frozen in transit, and we keep them frozen until people take them home and thaw them out and then water them," he said, explaining the trees don't lose their precious moisture as quickly.

He said trees brought up from warmer climates can be drier.

In choosing a tree, he said a moist tree will be heavier than other trees of its size, and won't be losing needles.

He also said a new trend in trees is using smaller potted trees which stay alive throughout the holidays.

He said it's catching on among the environmentally- conscious. Arctic Farmer carries small, potted Norfolk Pines.

Dewar said Christmas trees are catching fire less frequently than in decades past, and he credits the abundance of fire-safe holiday peripherals, such as artificial trees, flame resistant ornaments, and especially the new breed of LED decorative lights.

But he said it's still important for people to be diligent about fire safety around all aspects of the holidays.

"Fire safety is everyone's responsibility," he said.

So water, water, water your tree, don't overload your electrical outlets, keep the tree away from heat sources, and turn off all the lights when you go to bed or leave the house.

Dewar also said residents can contact the fire department if they have safety questions, and added there is a wealth of information about fire safety on the Internet.

"It's so easy to locate safety information," he said, mentioning that a quick Google search of "holiday fire safety" turns up a wealth of resources.

He said misinformation wasn't a big worry, because most of the websites that turn up are by North American fire departments and various safety organizations.