Rescuer Fedorovich spoke about the dangers of New Year’s garlands: how to choose the right one

Last Sunday, December 3, was overshadowed by a terrible fire in a Moscow high-rise building on Library Street, which led to the death of two children, 4 and 9 years old. Their father is in the hospital with burns, and their mother, who was at work at the time of the tragedy, is being treated by psychologists. According to the main version, the cause of the fire was a short circuit in a Chinese electrical garland that hung on the curtains in their apartment. The spark from the short circuit jumped onto the curtain fabric.

MK found out from rescuers and garland sellers how to avoid such tragedies. The biggest danger of electric garlands, according to experts, is their antiquity. Many Russians have kept balls of wires of multi-colored light bulbs since the time of their great-grandmothers and passed them on as a “family heirloom” from generation to generation. But such old stuff must be mercilessly parted with.

“If the garlands currently sold contain modern LED lamps, which do not heat up and give virtually no heat, then the old ones contain incandescent lamps,” Vladimir Fedorovich, adviser to the chairman of the executive committee of Rossoyuzspas, told MK. – Both the wiring and the plugs on the garlands age, and therefore a short circuit or insulation breakdown may occur in them – all these are typical problems that arise when using old, unsuitable wiring and can lead to a fire. And plus the heat that old incandescent lamps emit. I just recently saw my grandfather’s old garland at a friend’s house. And the most unpleasant thing is that a whole row of light bulbs have burned out, they unscrew them, and a short circuit can also occur there, since no one checks these sockets…

The second rule, which rescuers and firefighters speak with one voice: under no circumstances should you leave a switched-on garland unattended. When you leave the house or even this room, unplug it.

“In principle, this applies to all electrical appliances, but especially electric garlands, the quality of which often leaves much to be desired,” continues Fedorovich. – And the third rule is connected with this: low-quality and defective garlands are dangerous. Many manufacturers assume that the garland will “live” with you for a year or two, that is, this is a marketing ploy so that people buy them more often. Manufacturers do not want to bother with the product operating for too long. Moreover, not only the Chinese, but also European manufacturers suffer from this. In general, the operation of the garland should be checked in the store. If you bought a garland and see some malfunctions when you turn it on – incorrect blinking (not as indicated in the instructions), does not turn on, does not turn off – in a word, does not behave as indicated in its passport, then you should remove such decoration from get rid of.

The expert recalled that when a short circuit occurs, it is not necessarily a spark – a light smoke with a characteristic odor appears in this place. As soon as you smell the smell, immediately unplug the garland from the outlet. And it’s still better to keep a fire extinguisher in the apartment, either a powder or carbon dioxide one. Where there is electricity, it is dangerous to use air foam.

The rescuer also said that he had to go out to fires in apartments and kindergartens more than once because of garlands. “In one kindergarten they held a matinee and left the garland on the Christmas tree turned on. It was lucky that when it caught fire, there were no children there anymore, and the night watchman found out about the fire when all the glass blew out,” says Fedorovich.

“The most important thing is that you cannot use garlands that violate the insulation, including using homemade extension cords,” in turn, a specialist from the Moscow fire inspection department reminded MK. – They should be placed in such a way that there is less contact with fabrics and other flammable surfaces.

Electric garland seller Alexander Talnakhsky from Crimea gave recommendations on how to choose this New Year’s decoration. Firstly, garlands have different purposes: for a Christmas tree, apartment or street. And to place, for example, on a Christmas tree, they should have a power of no more than 50 watts.

– The cross-section of the garland wire must be at least 0.5 square meters. mm, and the wire itself has thick insulation,” the seller told us. – The distance from the plug to the nearest light bulb along the cord is at least 1.5 m. The insulation and connection to the control unit and plug must not be damaged in any way. Also, you should not allow water to get on the tree with the garland turned on, that is, you should not splash it. And the last important detail – there must be a document confirming the quality and safety of the Christmas tree garland, containing a link to the fire certificate in accordance with GOST.

Another issue that worries Russians on the eve of the New Year holidays is the use of its integral (for many) attribute for the upcoming New Year – pyrotechnics.

“The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia does not prohibit the use of fireworks, however, if violations are detected during their use, administrative punishment may follow,” commented “MK” in the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for Moscow. “In addition, a citizen should think seriously before using them, as this is a source of increased fire danger. Today in Moscow, work has been organized with the capital government to identify sites for the safe launch of fireworks, where employees of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations will be on duty.

“Pyrotechnics are prohibited from being sold to persons under 16 years of age,” reminded “MK” the deputy head of the State Administration – the head of the Department of Supervisory Activities and Preventive Work of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in Moscow, the chief state inspector of Moscow for fire supervision, Alexander Bobrov. – The sale of such products is allowed only in specialized stores, and when purchasing, you need to pay attention to the condition of the packaging, expiration date and the availability of instructions for use. Depending on the class, a safe radius for finding people is indicated there. If the pyrotechnics do not work, then you need to wait about 10-15 minutes, and only after that you can approach it to make sure that there are no smoldering things there. After this, it must be soaked in water for a day, and after that it can be thrown away with household waste. It is strictly prohibited to burn fireworks in bonfires.

Flying fireworks are allowed to be launched away from residential buildings, buildings with dilapidated roofs or open attics. Fireworks should be placed on a hard, level surface. It can be ice, flat ground, asphalt, smooth concrete. Spectators must remain outside the danger zone. The person launching the fireworks must immediately leave the danger zone after it has been launched.

The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in Moscow listed where it is still forbidden to launch firecrackers: near functional buildings, structures, trees, power lines; in areas of explosive and fire hazardous objects, near railways, oil pipelines, gas pipelines; on roofs, balconies, loggias, protruding parts of building facades; on the territories of objects without written permission from the owner of the object, as well as on the territories of especially valuable cultural heritage objects.