HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — As the temperatures decrease, a lot of people will be turning their heat on for the first time in months and while the warmth feels good, there are a lot of concerns that with it. Fire Marshal of Decatur John Jones said that there are a few things the community should remember
"The first heater use of the year we always get those calls from people saying I smell smoke, that's very common with h/vac units," Jones stated. "They have dust in the system, and when you turn those heaters on, and those coils get to cooking the dust on there, that does happen."
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Portable space heaters are responsible for 1,700 house fires a year, on average, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and those fires kill about eighty people every year. the risk can be greater for the older people.
"The elderly often times they're a little more apt to be cold," Jones stated. "They bring in space heaters and they use a lot of blankets. How close are those space heaters to the people? If there were a fire, are they able to get out? So that's certainly a consideration we worry about."
A few things to remember:
- Never leave space heaters unattended
- Turn them off if you're leaving the room or going to sleep
- Keep the heaters at least 3 ft away from anything that can burn like paper, clothing and rugs
- Don't leave space heaters in high traffic areas and doorways where people can trip over them
Fire Marshal Jones also advises against another common practice. "The other things that we see oftentimes as people, as they're trying to maintain, they'll take they'll take an oven, turn the oven on and open the door to the oven, that's not a good thing," Jones stated. "We understand it. people want to do that to try to stay warm, but it's just not good practice."