Live trees may return to city holiday display

Live Christmas trees would again be allowed in Honolulu Hale under a bill unanimously approved by the City Council on Wednesday despite strong objections from the Honolulu Fire Department.

Bill 2 would amend the Fire Code to allow freshly cut Christmas trees in Honolulu Hale, provided that there is approved fire watch staffing while the trees are on display. Mayor Kirk Caldwell would need to sign off on the bill for it to become law.

Councilman Ikaika Anderson, who introduced the bill, said Friday that he had heard from several people who would like to see live Christmas trees during Honolulu City Lights instead of the artificial ones used over the past few years. He said the provision in Bill 2 requiring a fire watch “will be more than enough,” adding that there have not been problems in the past with live Christmas tree fires in Honolulu Hale.

“It’s just not Christmas without real fresh-cut Christmas trees,” Anderson said. “You just don’t have that fresh Christmas tree smell anymore. (Instead) you’re greeted by a dank, dusty storage room smell. It just dampens the whole Christmas spirit without the real Christmas trees.”

Anderson said having around-the-clock security trained to use a fire extinguisher would ensure safety.

But Assistant Fire Chief Socrates Bratakos said live Christmas trees pose an “unacceptable risk,” adding that the department also worries someone could intentionally start a fire in City Hall. Bratakos said having a fire watch, which would need to be approved by HFD, is not enough to ensure safety. Honolulu Hale does not have an automatic fire sprinkler system.

Although Kapolei Hale has a sprinkler system, artificial trees have still been used inside because they are safer, Bratakos said. Artificial Christmas trees are less combustible than live ones, which dry out over time, he said.

“(Live) Christmas trees burn so hot and fast,” Bratakos said. “The sprinkler system is not designed to extinguish the fire. They’re designed to give people time to get out.”

Artificial Christmas trees have been used in Honolulu Hale since 2013, when HFD began enforcing the newly adopted Fire Code, which had barred live trees from assembly areas, Bratakos said. The Council, under a compromise with businesses and HFD, approved a bill in 2015 that allowed live Christmas trees in hotel lobbies, larger restaurants and other assembly areas, provided that there were sprinklers and a fire watch plan in place.

From 2006 to 2016 there were at least 64 fires involving live Christmas trees, the majority of which were rubbish fires, according to HFD. None of those fires was in Honolulu Hale.

“I don’t think we can be afraid of what might happen and use that as a reason to dampen the Christmas spirit. To me it doesn’t make sense,” Anderson said.

But in testimony submitted to the Council on Tuesday, HFD Chief Manuel Neves said, “In a fire emergency, crowds present problems, such as impeding access to extinguish a fire, limited ability to egress, and panic or loss of control. This would be a ‘perfect storm’ of conditions for a disaster.”