Holiday warning issued over fireworks
The Swiss fire prevention centre has urged people not to light candles on Christmas trees and to take care when using fireworks on New Year's Eve.
The centre said accidents involving candles or fireworks caused hundreds of fires in apartments every year in Switzerland.
It advises against lighting candles on or near Christmas trees after December 31, by which time the trees become dry and are very flammable.
Candles should always be put out whenever people leave the room and buckets of water should be kept near a Christmas tree as a safety precaution, the centre says.
People setting off fireworks for New Year’s Eve should read instructions carefully. Fireworks should never be lit near crowds and if they fail to go off, users should wait at least five minutes before approaching them as they can still ignite, the centre says.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.