100 years ago in Spokane: Spokane Fire Department gives advice on burning Christmas candles

From our archives,

100 years ago

In 1915, many people still used candles as Christmas lights.

So the Spokane Fire Department chief issued lessons on the front page of the Spokane Daily Chronicle about how to be safe with Christmas candles, as follows:

Never leave children alone with lighted candles.

Remove the curtains when candles are used in windows.

Use asbestos fiber instead of cotton to represent snow (advice that definitely would not be given today).

Use metallic tinsel and not paper on your trees.

Fasten your tree securely so it will not flip over.

Remove tree from house before the needles become dry.

From the Santa beat: Speaking of fire danger, a Warden teenager found out the hard way that Santa’s whiskers could also be dangerous.

Wayne Grandstaff was only 17, so he had to wear a lot of fake whiskers to look like Santa at Warden’s Christmas entertainment.

His whiskers caught fire from the Christmas tree candles, and he suffered burns on his face and hands.

Only the “cool-headed action” of some older people in the crowd prevented hundreds of merry-makers from being “stampeded” in a rush for the door.