Fire departments across the nation, including the Warrenton Fire Protection District, have been sharing a startling video made by the U.S. Consumer Safety Commission to show just how fast a Christmas tree fire can spread.Chief Mike Owenby said a spark from Christmas tree lights illustrated how a dry tree is a fire hazard. One spark led to a tree disintegrated by flames and spreading to the ceiling and beyond in seconds.A dry tree is susceptible to fire, if given a spark. The spark could be from a space heater, candles, overloaded extension cords or Christmas lights.“The newer ones are a lot safer than the ones you used to get. The LEDs don’t get hot like an incandescent bulb,” said Owenby.But what if the wires are damaged? Bad wires are a fire hazard, said Owenby, and pets like to chew on wires, or wires can become kinked up in storage or damaged with age. He said to check wires faithfully and know how many strings of lights can be connected.If more than what’s recommended by the manufacturer are connected that, too, is a potential fire hazard, he said.“If that tree starts to shed needles it’s dry. There’s a problem with that tree,” Owenby said. “The dryer they get, the faster they burn.”Trees aren’t the only risk, though. The season that includes winter and the holidays invites certain risks.“We have had Christmas tree fires in the past, but we haven’t had any this year,” Owenby said. “We run a lot of furnace calls.”Furnaces are often a neglected, or completely forgotten, appliance, he said. Filters load up with dust and debris and spread throughout and around the unit.“Furnace fires, that’s a lot of what we deal with right now.” Owenby said, “Clean your furnace regularly.”Have chimneys cleaned before they are used, he recommends, and check smoke detector batteries. Smoke detectors have a 10-year life span, so they should be replaced accordingly.Half of all home heating fires occur in December, January and February.Heating equipment is involved in one of every seven home fires and one in every five home fire deaths, according to research from FEMA and the National Fire Prevention Association.Among other recommendations, they say to keep anything that can burn three feet or more away from any heat source.The organizations say that more than half of home decoration fires during December are started by candles. While tree fires are less likely, one out of every 45 reported Christmas tree fires resulted in death.Fire safety organizations recommend that Christmas trees are put outside immediately after Christmas, or by Dec. 30.Fire