PEORIA Ill. (WMBD) — The 27th annual “Keep the Wreath Red” campaign has officially begun.
Since 1995 the Peoria fire department has participated in the event to minimize the number of fires caused by holiday decorations.
Each fire station in Peoria has a Christmas wreath decorated with red bulbs. For every fire during the holiday season, a red bulb will be replaced with a white one.
Fire inspector Charlie Perrin says while people are focusing on holiday shopping, it’s easy to forget how to stay safe during the holiday season.
“A lot of people are out thinking about Christmas, the holidays, getting family together, and they’re not really thinking about fire safety. So getting the message out, using the wreath is a really good tool because the wreath is part of the holidays,” said Perrin.
During 2021’s “Keep the Wreath Red” holiday campaign, 15 fire-related incidents happened with more than $700,000 in estimated damages as well as four people getting hurt.
The wreaths will stay on the fire departments until the start of the new year.