The flames were creeping up an oak tree, and, in the heavily wooded neighborhood, any tree fire was bound to spread.
19 NEW YORK/REGION 25-30 Two Children Are Killed In Christmas Tree Fire A Christmas tree fire apparently ignited by a candle roared through an apartment in Washington Heights late Friday night, trapping a family of four between a wall of flames and padlocked window gates over a fire escape.
A Christmas tree fire apparently ignited by a candle roared through an apartment in Washington Heights late Friday night, trapping a family of four between a wall of flames and padlocked window gates over a fire escape.
The Christmas tree fire Friday night in Washington Heights that left two young children dead has revived calls by the Fire Department to landlords and tenants to remove illegal window gates like the one that prevented the children and their mother from escaping.
(A video on the group's Web site shows how quickly a dry tree ignites compared to a well-watered one. Go to nfpa.org, search for "Christmas tree fire," click on the first link on the next page and scroll halfway down).
Hemet family loses home, presents in Christmas tree fire.
And once a fire gets to the top of a tree, fire authorities say it can spread quickly — hopping from tree to tree rather than winding slowly across the ground.
The singer and actor lived on the property from 1936 until early January 1943, when the 20-room house there was gutted in a Christmas tree fire, according to Los Angeles Times archives.
