WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – With the holiday season here, many people like to display decorations, such as Christmas trees and candles, and spend lots of time cooking in the kitchen.

But statistics from the National Fire Protection Agency show that  U.S. fire departments respond to 230 home structure fires each year that are caused by Christmas trees, and almost half of all home decoration fires are sparked by candles, according to a news release from the Wilmington Fire Department.

Additionally, unattended cooking is the leading cause of U.S. home fires and home fire injuries.

As a result, the WFD released the following fire prevention safety tips:

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – With the recent events in Connecticut, communities around the country and world are trying to honor the victims and Wilmington is no different.

You may have already heard of The Olivia Act, which was created and named after one of the children killed in Newtown.

A photographer, who wishes to be anonymous, came up with the idea.

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Paramedics at New Hanover Regional Medical Center loaded their “sleighs” Friday to deliver gifts as part of the annual Adopt-A-Family Toy Delivery.

Each employees with the hospital donate hundreds of items to deliver to families that might not otherwise have gifts to unwrap at Christmas.

More than 80 hospital departments are taking part this year and have adopted 84 families in the community.

The toys were loaded into ambulances for delivery Friday morning to area agencies.

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