OFF BEAT: Check your snow globe along with fire alarm batteries

It might be wise to check snow globes while completing fire risk assessments, as one caused a display window to ignite last week.

The fake snow and reindeer food in the window of a thrift shop in southwest England caught fire on Christmas morning from sunlight refracting through a snow globe, according to reports.

Firefighters put the fire out within 10 minutes of arriving around 11:30 a.m., but there was still “severe fire damage to the shop window display, heat damage to the window and severe smoke damage to the entire shop,” a fire service spokesman told news reporters.

The spokesman said that while snow globe-related fires are rare, they are possible — especially when the sun is lower in the sky — so homeowners should take note.

“Consideration should be given to the possibility that this could happen in your homes, particularly with shaving-type mirrors, which can focus the sun’s rays and cause fires,” the spokesman added.