Main Line Banter: Don’t let fire destroy your holidays!
From residences to retailers and businesses throughout the Main Line, the spirit of the holiday season is fully aglow!
Hanukkah (December7-15 this year) and Christmas trappings and preparations are joyfully underway, fireplaces are crackling, decorative lights are sparkling, and aromas of an assortment of goodies waft from bake ovens as the warmth of the season continues to radiate.
For fear of being labeled an icy Grinch, or a pre-enlightened Scrooge in the middle of all that warmth, please remember that there is no better time than during the holiday season to keep fire safety foremost in mind.
The members of the Berwyn, Bryn Mawr, Malvern, Paoli, and other local fire companies throughout the Main Line would be among the last people wanting to dampen your holiday joy.
At the same time, they would be among the first to remind everyone to recognize that the wonderful joys of December and early January could prove disastrous because of the fierce and tragic side of fire. (Just look at what wildfires have done recently in California.)
Not that long ago, Eamon Brazunus (Phoenixville Fire Chief and formerly part of both the Berwyn and Radnor Fire Companies) took to his Facebook page to share a few cautionary tales about the havoc those roaring fireplaces, those glittering electric lights, those goodies producing gas and electric ovens and ranges in so many modern homes could wreak.
We join with Eamon in believing that one can never say enough about fire safety, so being the Grinch and the Scrooge that we are, we’re again sharing those cautionary words:
“A few generations ago, homes were built with sturdy lumber and furnished with natural fabrics and wood. Today, almost everything’s made of petroleum-based fibers, plastics, and glue — and while modern materials might be more affordable, there’s a price to pay for progress. Today, by the time firefighters arrive, the building could be in a flashover state — the hottest point of a fire, the most dangerous moment for occupants and firefighters alike.
“Homes used to seat floors on sturdy 2-by-10-inch or 2-by-12-inch lumber. Now, pre-engineered trusses — often built from a composite of non-wood materials — may burn more quickly. The trusses use glues and resins that can melt at elevated temperatures and allow longer gaps between supports, all of which means floors are quicker to collapse in a fire.
“Modern materials burn more quickly, generate more heat, and emit black, toxic smoke. That means less time for occupants to evacuate a burning home or building. Professional firefighters tell us that when that smoke detector goes off, you are looking at 30 seconds to get stuff together and get out of the fire scene.
“By the time firefighters respond to the 911 call, a burning house is close to the six-minute mark when a truss-built floor could collapse. Adding to the danger is the smoke these fires emit. It’s thicker, darker and pumps poisonous carbon monoxide and cyanide into the air. Fires burn faster and hotter, and there are more injuries to firefighters, and more firefighter deaths related to new building constructions.
“Testing by the National Fire Protection Association has shown that traditional lumber construction will give firefighters a good 18 minutes before a burning floor is likely to give way. Pre-engineered trusses last about six minutes.”
Not wanting to beat a “poor Grinch or Scrooge” into ashes, let’s all remember that throughout the Main Line communities, firefighters are answering more calls than ever and recruiting new volunteers is increasingly more difficult than ever.
Last thoughts about fire to consider in this season of warmth: Practice fire safety. Be sure you have working smoke detectors in place. Don’t overload electrical circuits and keep a watchful eye on a burning fireplace.
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December tunes around town
If live musical entertainment is your pleasure, December is the time to indulge. On the 3rd , consider the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Music Festival at the Bomberger Auditorium at Ursinus College. The 4 p.m. program will include a small wind band, chamber music groups and student vocal and instrumental groups.
From the 8th to the 17th , Footlighters Theater, Berwyn, will be delighting young and old alike, presenting “Once Upon a Mattress,” the topsy-turvy fairy tale musical about a princess and a pea that is guaranteed to keep you awake
On Saturday the 9th , a holiday concert will be held at 7 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Berwyn, Craig Bickhardt, Jesse Terry, Hailey Neal, and Sam Robbins. The free concert open to the public will include original tunes and other joyful songs of the season.
From now through New Year’s Eve, theatregoers at People’s Light, Malvern, will be taken through an eerie and innovative world of Ebenezer Scrooge in Zak Berkman’s musical adaptation of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (Note: More about this production in next week’s Banter.)
Although they don’t qualify precisely as “live music entertainment,” there are at least two other “special holiday events” worth considering for family fun and delight. “Yuletide at Devon” and “Holiday Light Show” at Yeager’s Farm, Phoenixville.
“Yuletide” the inaugural Christmas Festival on the grounds of the Devon Horse Show through New Year’s Eve, features traditions, tastes and tunes heralding the joyous season. A Ferris wheel, carousel, Himalayan Mountain ride, gourmet food, original contemporary live music, sparkling lights, and decorations (as well as Santa and other North Pole denizens at their merrymaking best) are all part of the nightly show. (There may even be a gallant steed or two somewhere on the grounds.
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Finally, nobody asked, but Fred Rogers was right when he said “I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.”
The Last Word: Good day, good luck, and good news tomorrow!
Comments invited to mainlinebanter@veerizon.net.
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