Fire and Emergency New Zealand says people need to be very careful with real Christmas trees, as they attend a number of structure fires each year at this time of year involving the festive centre pieces.
National Risk Reduction Manager Rob Saunders said data showed FENZ had been called to 12 structure fires involving Christmas trees over the past six years, plus one so far this year already.
"Anecdotally, though, we know the numbers of incidents we attend is higher," Mr Saunders said.
"In addition, we have attended a large number of the other incidents related to people burning their old trees at the end of the season."
Mr Saunders urged people to be cautious with their Christmas lights and to keep their trees well watered.
Last month, a US government agency has created a comparison video showing how quickly a dried out Christmas tree will burn up if ignited, compared with a well-watered one.
The video, created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, put two identical trees side by side and sets them both alight at the same time.
The dry tree goes up very quickly, with flame engulfing the tree in under 10 seconds.
Fire and Emergency's Christmas safety tips:
• Regular watering will prevent the tree from drying out and make it safer for tree lights or electrical tree decorations.
• The Christmas tree is best securely positioned in a cool place away from busy areas, stairs and doors – especially doors leading outside.
• Turn tree lights off before you go to sleep or when you go out.
• If your tree becomes dry and starts shedding needles you should remove it from the house. Don't take the risk!
• Dispose of your tree appropriately. Don't leave it beside the house or garage.
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