NATIONWIDE -- Decorating for the holidays is fun, but there can be dangers.

Nationwide, firefighters respond to some 200 Christmas tree fires between December and January.   

Greensboro Fire Chief Dwayne Church says while Christmas tree fires are rare, they're very deadly.

"One out of every 32 Christmas tree fires are fatal whereas one in every 143 residential structure fires are fatal," said Chief Dwayne Church, Greensboro Fire Department. 

Church also says Christmas tree lights are one of the top causes of the deadly fires. 

"So what we recommend is when you are going to put lights on, inspect them. Look for any frayed spots, and if you see frayed wires, just throw those away," said Church. 

Other Christmas tree safety tips from the fire chief include: 

  1. When picking out your tree, make sure it is fresh. You can ask someone working at the Christmas tree farm when it was cut. Also make sure when you touch it, none of the needles are falling off.
  2. Before bringing a tree into your home, make sure you have working smoke alarms. If you are in the Triad, the Greensboro Fire Department will install smoke alarms for you at no cost. You can go to their website to get assistance.
  3. Also, before bringing it inside your home, cut a couple inches off the bottom so it can soak up water and not dry up.  
  4. Once the tree is in your home, make sure you are not placing it in front of an exit.
  5. Water, water, water!  
  6. If you can, get an artificial tree. And if you do get a real tree, don't keep it for more than four weeks.