There will be three different holiday parades in Hauppauge on Saturday, December 9th. Please check the parade routes for one near you.

While it’s a centerpiece of the holiday season for many people, your Christmas tree can also be a fire hazard. If a live Christmas tree catches fire, it often takes just minutes before flames, poisonous smoke and deadly heat fill the entire room. Seconds later, the fire can travel up a staircase into adjacent rooms and make escape virtually impossible for anyone on the second floor of your home.

There’s a scientific explanation for why these types of fires can be so dangerous. The amount of heat energy a tree can release quickly, the confinement of that energy and the smoke within the house’s rooms can rapidly produce deadly conditions.

“Live Christmas trees can be powerful fuel sources, especially when dry,” Shanley said. “At its peak, a burning 6-foot tree can give off the same heat as 40,000 100-watt lightbulbs – as much as a burning full-sized automobile. This is enough to create flashover conditions within a typical living room. Flashover is when all other objects in a room are ignited by the fire and it rapidly spreads to other rooms.”

To help prevent these life-threatening situations, here are some tips and precautions to follow when choosing and decorating your Christmas tree:

1. Give live Christmas trees a fresh cut. Choose a freshly cut Christmas tree or cut an inch off the bottom so it will absorb water and stay fresher longer. “Sap flows out of trees, so without a fresh cut at the bottom, water uptake will not be as good, which can result in a dry tree.”

2. Water your Christmas tree daily. Constant watering can make your tree more resistant to ignition and fast-spreading fires. But the moment the tree appears to drop its needles, that’s a sign it’s drying out and should be shown the door.

3. Use approved Christmas tree lights and connect them properly. Choose lights tested by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Avoid connecting multiple extension cords and more than three strands of lights. Additionally, be sure to inspect extension cords for damage before using.

4. Inspect lights and other powered decorations. Before decorating your tree, lay out strings of lights and look for any broken or missing bulbs. Also, inspect the light strings and other powered decorations for damaged (cracked/brittle) or missing plastic insulation, exposed wires, any discoloration or other problems. If any of these defects are found, don’t use the items and throw them away.

5. Choose your Christmas tree’s location carefully. Place the tree away from stairs, where fire can quickly travel to bedrooms. Never place it near heat sources, such as a wood stove, space heater or fireplace. Keep in mind that placing a tree close to radiators and heat vents can more quickly dry it out.

6. Keep candles away from the tree. About one in 16 Christmas tree fires reported by the National Fire Protection Association were caused by a candle.

7. Keep pets away. Pets can chew, paw and otherwise damage the lights on your tree (or even knock the tree over). For this reason, if you have pets, periodically checking your tree is a good idea. And always check to see whether a pet has damaged any lights or if the lights go out or start going on and off on their own.

8. Don’t leave your Christmas tree plugged in. Never leave the tree plugged in when you’re away from home or asleep.

9. Close bedroom doors. Closing bedroom doors at night can help to keep out harmful smoke and flames in the event of a Christmas tree fire, giving you more time to exit the home.

10. Test smoke alarms. Properly working smoke detectors installed at every level of the home and near sleeping areas can alert the household to a fire. These alerts help save lives by alerting occupants soon enough to give them a chance to escape.

Video courtesy of National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The final phase of our residential fund drive includes a mailing to all homes in the Hauppauge Fire District with our holiday parade routes.

Our holiday parades will be held on Saturday, December 9th. Engine Company 1 will hold their parade on the East end of the district, Engine Company 3, with the longest running parade in the department (they are in their 39th year) will hold their Santa Parade on the West end of the district and Engine Company 4 and Truck Company have combined forces to hold their parade in the central part of the district.

Please click on the links below for the PDF version of each parade route.

The Hauppauge Fire Department is looking for young members of the community to join the Hauppauge Fire Department’s Explorers Program, Post 660. You must be 14-17 years of age and reside in the Hauppauge Fire District. 

This is a great way to start your volunteer firefighting career as a member of the Hauppauge Fire Department. Once you reach the age of 18, you can formally apply for membership in the Hauppauge Fire Department as a Class “A” Firefighter. 

As a member of the Explorers, you will have the opportunity to train and get a behind the scenes look at how the Hauppauge Volunteer Fire Department works. This training will give you a head start on the training you would receive with the department and with the Suffolk County Fire Academy if you become an official member of the Hauppauge Fire Department. 

As an Explorer you will receive specific training, both classroom and hands-on instruction, in basic firefighting skills including how to properly wear firefighting gear including the SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus), hose handling, hydrant and water supply, ladders, firefighting tools, strategy and tactics of firefighting, etc. 

Once you successfully apply for full membership in the department you become eligible for many benefits including various scholarship programs. Suffolk County offers incentives through its SERVES program to volunteer firefighters who attend Suffolk Community College. 

Volunteers under the SERVES scholarship program will be eligible to have their tuition paid in full while maintaining their membership as an active member in good standing in one of Suffolk County’s volunteer fire companies or EMS providers. There is no limitation as to the academic program the SERVES recruit can enter at any SCCC campus.

A SERVES student/volunteer must maintain volunteer activity and training levels and certain academic objectives during their course of study and must commit to a post-education service obligation of two (2) to five (5) years following the receipt of their total SERVES funding.

If you are interested, please fill out the information below and reach out to our Explorer Program Coordinator FF Andrew Mendola at: 631 265 2499 Ext 117 or fax to: 631 265 - 0674. We will meet with you and your Parent(s) to get the full application completed and answer any questions you may have. 

Each Fall the Hauppauge Fire Department conducts Fire Prevention assembly programs at the elementary schools in the Hauppauge School District. It is also the time of year when we send out the Fire Prevention Essay and Coloring Contest supplies to the kindergarten and 1st through 5th grade students. The winners of the Essay and Coloring contests will be announced at our Fire Prevention Open House on Friday, October 13th.

These pictures were taken at the Pines Elementary School on September 18th and at the Bretton Woods Elementary School on September 21. The Forest Brook Elementary open house is scheduled for September 28th.

We have added the ability to order and pay for an engraved 9/11 brick at our memorial. Simply click on the link, follow the instructions and you can leave a lasting tribute for a loved one. For more pictures, visit our 9/11 Memorial Page. NOW IS THE TIME TO ORDER A BRICK IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT INSTALLED BY THIS YEAR'S 9/11 CEREMONIES.