The possibility of cold weather is here for a while yet and according to the National Fire Prevention Association, more house fires take place during winter than any other season. Half of home-heating fires take place in December, January and February.
Jeff Anderson is the Fire Chief for the City of Morehead. He said it is important to not use alternative methods to heat homes.
“A lot of people try to open up their oven or turn the burners on, on their stove. It’s not recommended that you do that because those are not meant to heat up your house, so don’t do that. Don’t bring propane tanks inside your house and use propane heaters with the tank inside. Again, they’re not meant to do that either,” said Anderson.
According to The National Fire Protection Association, heating equipment is one of the number one causes of home fire deaths. Chief Anderson said a common mistake people make when using space heaters in their homes is trying to heat too large an area for too long a time.
“Lots of times people try to bring them or multiple space heaters in a residence, which overloads the electrical system. It’s one problem with them, and like I said, putting them next to bedding or material that may catch fire,” said Anderson.
Chief Anderson added it’s important to not wait till the last minute to prepare for winter weather. Some other fire safety tips include turning off portable heaters when you leave the room or go to bed, using generators outdoors and keeping them away from doors and windows, be ready in case the power goes out, never use candles, and make sure your house number can be easily seen from the outside in the event firefighters need to respond.
More safety tips can be found here.