{"id":22561,"date":"2016-11-07T15:17:03","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T23:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/?page_id=22561"},"modified":"2025-07-07T11:35:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T18:35:00","slug":"sppm-8-70","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/index\/manuals\/safety-policies-procedures-manual\/sppm-8-70\/","title":{"rendered":"8.70 Holiday Decorations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading wsu-font-size--xxmedium\">Safety Policies and Procedures Manual<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Holiday Decorations<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-row wsu-row--single\" >\r\n    \n<div class=\"wsu-column\"  style=\"\">\r\n\t\n\n<p><strong>SPPM 8.70<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For more information contact:<\/strong><br>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;WSU Fire Marshal<br>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;509-335-8548<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Responsibility<\/h3>\n<p>During holiday periods, University departments often decorate offices and other work areas. To prevent fire-related losses and injuries, University personnel are responsible for observing the following fire regulations. University fire safety personnel monitor displays during holiday periods. Direct questions to the WSU Fire Marshal; telephone 509-335-8548.<\/p>\n<h3>Flammable Materials<\/h3>\n<p>Flame retardant paper, cardboard, and wood are allowed for construction of small decorative displays.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Extensive or elaborate paper, cardboard, or wood displays are not permitted.<\/li>\n<li>Untreated paper, cardboard, or wood displays are not permitted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Purchase<\/h4>\n<p>Purchase flame retardant construction materials from art stores, hardware stores or lumber yards.<\/p>\n<p>Fire retardants may be purchased to apply to flammable materials used for decorations. Contact the WSU Fire Marshal for product names, ratings and specifications.<\/p>\n<h4>Paper Fire Retardant<\/h4>\n<p>The WSU Fire Marshal recommends the following as an easy-to-make, economical fire retardant for paper.<\/p>\n<p>Ingredients:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">l cup ammonia sulfate (from the garden store)<br>\n6 Tablespoons boric acid (from the druggist)<br>\n4 Tablespoons borax (from the grocer)<br>\n3 cups water<\/p>\n<p>Stir the first three ingredients into the water until dissolved. Brush or spray the solution onto the paper&#8217;s surface. Allow the solution to dry. The treated paper will wrinkle and discolor.<\/p>\n<p>The WSU Fire Marshal prohibits the use of the following materials for decorative purposes: styrofoam, evergreen boughs, straw, hay, cotton, corn stalks, dry leaves, and other similar materials.<\/p>\n<h3>Open Flames and Candles<\/h3>\n<p>Open flames and candles may not be used as decorations at any time in University buildings.<\/p>\n<h3>Placement of Decorations<\/h3>\n<p>Decorations are not to disguise, cover, or interfere with any safety device, e.g., fire extinguishers, standpipe hoses, exit signs, fire sprinklers, and alarm boxes.<\/p>\n<p>Decorations (including trees) are not permitted in emergency exit routes, i.e., stairwells, corridors, and elevator foyers. Exception: Flame retardant or noncombustible decorations may be placed on bulletin boards on the walls of corridors.<\/p>\n<p>Decorations of any composition are not permitted in elevators, elevator foyers, or stairwells.<\/p>\n<h3>Electrical Decorations<\/h3>\n<p>(See also <a href=\"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/index\/manuals\/safety-policies-procedures-manual\/sppm-2-72\/\">SPPM 2.72<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Decorations that&nbsp;avoid electrical use by utilizing features that&nbsp;reflect ambient lighting for highlights are preferred. Where used, electrical decorations should be battery-powered and avoid connection to the building electrical systems.<\/p>\n<p>Any electrical lighting decorations must utilize light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Other lighting types, such as incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, etc., are prohibited.<\/p>\n<p>Electrical decorations must be in good condition and approved by Underwriter Laboratories (U.L.).<\/p>\n<p>Light bulbs or lighted decorations are not to contact combustible materials.<\/p>\n<h3>Tree Care<\/h3>\n<p>Prior to placement in a water base, cut the base of the tree at an angle at least one inch above the original cut. This preserves the tree&#8217;s freshness and reduces flammability.<\/p>\n<p>Place the freshly-cut tree in the container of water and maintain the water level throughout the display period.<\/p>\n<p>Remove trees that start to dry out.<\/p>\n<h3>Decoration Disposal<\/h3>\n<p>Place disposed decorations in a standard dumpster. Stairways, exits, and electrical\/mechanical rooms are not safe places to store decorations prior to disposal (even temporarily).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: .8rem\">_______________________<br><strong>Revisions:<\/strong>&nbsp; Sept. 2010 (Rev. 86); Mar. 2000 (Rev. 29); Sept. 1986 &#8211; new policy (Rev. 2).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Safety Policies and Procedures Manual Holiday Decorations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1061,"featured_media":0,"parent":21864,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1061"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22561"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67270,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22561\/revisions\/67270"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=22561"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.wsu.edu\/prf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=22561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}