An Ontario family is lucky to walk away unharmed after their Christmas tree spontaneously burst into flames.
The terrifying incident, which was captured by a home surveillance camera, shows the tree igniting on the night of Dec. 21 at the home in Emsdale, a small town 350 kilometres north of Toronto.
“My one daughter screamed, ‘Fire!’” Doug Ashenden told CTV Barrie. “I turned around to see my Christmas tree going up in flames.”
Although Ashenden had a fire extinguisher, it wasn’t working. His instincts quickly kicked in.
“I don’t think much was running through my mind to be honest, other than just get it out,” he recalled.
In the video, you can see Ashenden wrestling the burning tree from his living room before running it outside to smolder in the snow.
“If I was thinking like you're supposed to, I should have gotten everybody responsibly out of the house,” he said. “But no, I got the tree out.”
Fortunately, there was little damage to the home. Ashenden walked away with just a few scrapes and a minor burn. His partner and three children also got out of the house unscathed. They believe the fire could have been caused by the tree’s lights.
Mike Vadjla, who works for the fire department in the nearby town of Huntsville, says the family should have just fled.
“By taking the tree and trying to get it out, he got lucky,” Vadjla opined. “But we don't recommend that because obviously it could have spread through the house.”
