With temperatures reminding us that winter is just around the corner, fire officials are warning people to take precautions when heating their homes. According to the National Fire Protection Association, heating is the second leading cause of house fires and 81 percent of those are caused by space heaters.
Lexington Firefighter Todd Houston says some of the advice is common-sense.
“You want to have about a three-foot perimeter around the heater, away from furniture and clothing and curtains and piles of clothes, anything like that to give the space so those don’t catch on fire. Make sure you can plug it directly into the wall, you don’t want to use an extension cord,” said Houston.
Houston said most extension cords aren’t rated for the amount of energy a heater requires and can overheat and start a fire.
The firefighter also cautioned people not to get creative trying to conserve energy.
“And maybe this is an older generation thing, but my grandma used to do it when I was a kid. But they would open the oven to heat their house. We don’t recommend that, we don’t recommend turning on your burners on your stove to try to heat your house,” said Houston.
Houston said chimneys should be inspected for cracks and soot buildup.
It’s recommended people using kerosene or another fuel use a CO monitor to alert them to carbon monoxide.
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