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Christmas lights faulted for Friday fire

Christmas lights faulted for Friday fire Overheated Christmas lights are being blamed for a fire at Clippers Barber Shop in Whitehorse on Friday night. Whitehorse firefighters responded to an alarm ringing in the multi-unit building on 4th Ave.

Overheated Christmas lights are being blamed for a fire at Clippers Barber Shop in Whitehorse on Friday night.

Whitehorse firefighters responded to an alarm ringing in the multi-unit building on 4th Ave. just before 8 p.m. Friday evening, according to deputy fire chief Kevin Lyslo.

No one was hurt, and the damage was mostly due to smoke, not flames, Lyslo said.

While relatively minor, the close call is the latest in a busy month for the Whitehorse fire department. Lyslo said the cause of Friday’s fire was an electrical short in Christmas lights that had been left on after closing time.

With so many families setting up festive lights for the holidays, Lyslo said people need to be extra careful not to leave things turned on when they aren’t around to keep an eye on them.

“When you leave home, turn your lights off, don’t let them run for hours. The new LED lights are much better (than older style incandescent bulbs), but things can still get hot,” Lyslo said.

“Common sense still has a role,” he said.