Christmas Fires

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."-Larry Wilde

Here is an interesting story of holiday events gone wrong at wwwStraightDope.com

My assistant Una had an Uncle Bob, a manly man who felt throwing the Christmas tree away was a waste of good firewood. So he tossed it in the fireplace — gave him a nice warm glow.
Unfortunately what was glowing was the roof, presumably ignited by embers.
Fortunately the fire was small and anybody with a hose could have put it out. Unfortunately the hose was frozen solid and the fire department had trouble getting the nearest hydrant to work.
Fortunately the firefighters were able to throw a ladder up against the house and put out the fire with a chemical extinguisher. They then hacked off a small hunk of charred roof with axes, peered into the crawl space, and declared the fire out.
Unfortunately, having by now found an operational hydrant, the firemen declared they needed to hose down the roof "as policy," sending a torrent of water through the hole and collapsing the living room ceiling.
Really unfortunately, the house that all this happened in belonged not to Uncle Bob but his in-laws. Bob bought them an RV and matters were pronounced square, but it was a lesson he won't soon forget, and neither should you.

Bottom Line

I recommend reading the entire StraightDope story at Why is it dangerous to burn wrapping paper? And check out this classic of how quickly a dry christmas tree can go up in flame - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIQY7x6MwMg

Safely dispose of the tree when it begins dropping needles. Dried-out trees are highly flammable and should not be left in a house or garage, or placed against the house.