Heating Safety

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, such as furnaces, fireplaces, wood stove, or a portable space heater.
• Have a three foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use an oven to heat your home.
• Have a qualified professional install stationary heating equipment, water heaters, or central heating equipment according to local coding laws.
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Remember to switch portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Always use the right kind of fuel, as specified by the manufacturer, for fuel-burning space heaters.
• Make sure your fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into your room.
• Always let ashes cool before you place them into a metal container and keep this container a safe distance from your home.
• Test your smoke alarms once a month.

FACT: Nearly half of all home heating fires occurs in January, February, and December.

Information taken from the NFPA.