A residential fire in Milton on Monday night led to the extinguishing of the first candle of the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” fire safety tree.
According to the public information office of Santa Rosa County, emergency crews from the Milton and Skyline fire departments, along with officers from the Milton Police Department, responded to a fire with entrapment call at Astor Village – a senior affordable housing community.
First responders located an adult male in the building, who was then transported to the Santa Rosa Medical Center for treatment.
The press release states the cause of the fire is unknown and is currently under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.
Milton Fire Chief John Reble said the resident was unconscious when firefighters made contact.
“He was unconscious when we found him, but he roused up (and) our guys were actually able to walk him out,” Reble said.
At the time of interview, Reble did not have any updates on the condition of the male occupant.
For the eighth consecutive year, the emergency service agencies within the county are teaming up to promote fire safety during the month of December with the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” campaign.
“We work in conjunction with emergency management, the firefighters association and all of the fire departments every year,” Reble said.
The campaign promotes fire safety while dealing with cooler weather, holiday decorations and other festivities.
The campaign centers around a Christmas tree located within the Santa Rosa County Administration Complex.
According to the press release, an electric candle will be ‘extinguished’ on the tree each time county firefighters respond to a working residential fire or large wildfire causing fire damage.
Reble shared some insight on how residents can avoid potentially creating a residential fire.
“Kitchen fires are always the number one cause of residential structure fires,” Reble said. “We always tell folks never leave something unattended (cooking) on the stove.”
In addition to keeping a stove top clear, Reble warns residents to never step away from a heated stove top, should a distraction occur.
“Take it off the heat, turn the burner off, go do what you need to do, come back and put it back on,” Reble said. “It’s so easy for folks to just lose track of it.”
He also suggests placing a fire extinguisher in an easy to access location in or near the kitchen.
“We have had quite a few kitchen types of fire, we always do,” he said. “They are often avoidable.”
In addition to maintaining a live cut Christmas tree inside a household and using precaution when setting up interior or exterior Christmas lights or operating a space heater, Reble thinks many residents are already aware in taking precautions during the holidays.
“We don’t see a dramatic spike in fire activity (during the holiday season),” Reble said. “I think public education and awareness campaigns help.”
“It’s been many years, since we have had a Christmas tree fire and I hope it stays that way.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Residential fire leads to extinguished first candle on ‘fire safety tree’