West Des Moines Firefighters Implore: No More Red Bulbs in Station No. 21 Star

Four of the 25 bulbs in the huge star high above the West Des Moines Fire Station No. 21 at Valley West Drive and Ashworth Road are red.

That’s four too many in Fire Marshal Mike Whitsell’s mind.

The significance of the red is there have been four fires since Thanksgiving that could have been prevented with precaution.

The fire department’s annual “Keep the Star White” campaign, an annual holiday tradition since 1998, aims for all white lights.

A red light means that one of the following has happened during the holiday period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day:

• Any Christmas tree fire, live or artificial.
• Any fire due to a candle.
• Cooking fires (that accounts for one red bulb this year).
• Electrical cord or outlet fire.
• Heating appliances, such as a furnace or space heater (that accounts for another red bulb).
• Chimney fire (red bulb No. 3).
• Storage too close to a heat source.
• Holiday lights.
• Smoldering cigarettes (an improperly discarded lit cigarette caused a fire).

The star is affixed to a cellular tower 85 feet in the sky. Changing the bulbs requires firefighters to get out the ladder truck. It’s a lot of work. But that’s not the reason Whitsell and other fire department personnel want to stop at four bulbs.

“There’s never a good time for a fire, but we especially don’t want one this time of year when people should be enjoying time with their families,” he said.

A cold snap means that more people will be “hunkering down inside and cranking the furnace up a little,” increasing the potential for fire, Whitsell said.

He encouraged residents to have their furnaces checked by a professional if they haven’t already. Some other things to be mindful of are not overloading outlets with Christmas lights, avoiding space heaters that don’t have automatic shut-off switches, making sure live trees have plenty of water and having their fireplace chimneys swept.

Even gas fireplaces are not worry-free, he said.

“That pilot light is always on and birds are smart and know it’s generating heat,” he said. “They could be nesting in the vent, which could cause gas fumes to come back in.”