Proper safety fire precautions to keep you safe
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – According to the National Fire Prevention Association, in 2014, there were 494,000 structure fires reported in the United States and almost 54,000 of those fires were related to home heating equipment.
Lafayette Fire Inspector Todd Trent said it’s very important for families to be aware of the proper fire safety precautions and to make sure they have their furnace ready for the winter.
“Make sure that their using seasoned hard wood that’s not green, green wood seems to create a lot more suds. There should be wire mash on top of their chimney that decelerates any sparks that would be coming out of the chimney,” Trent said. “Lastly, make sure that their maintaining a 36-inch circumference around the fire place that would not do any combustion around the fire itself.”
Trent said signs to look for if you think your chimney is failing include resin leaking out of the masonry and the draft from the chimney would be blowing into the house instead of through the vent.
He says these would be signs that your chimney needs to be swept or there is a failure inside the flue.
The NFPA statistics show last year 12 percent of fire-related deaths were due to stationary or portable heaters. Trent said following the rules on how to properly use space heaters is crucial, especially since these are the most common fire starters.
- Have a 3-foot circumference around the space heater
- Make sure it has some type of barrier to keep pets and young children from touching it
- If they are kerosene, you want to make sure that they were filled outside your home
- Make sure that if there was over spill, that it’s nothing on the outside of the container
- Make sure that it is not sitting on carpet or rugs
- Make sure to have an anti-tip device, so if it ever falls over it would automatically shut off
Trent said any kind of natural gas does give off carbon monoxide, that’s why carbon monoxide detectors are just as important to have in your home as smoke detectors.
For more information on fire safety practices, click here.