Check out this video from the National Fire Protection Association for safely heating your home in the cold weather months. NFPA offers several tips you can follow to ensure a safe and cozy Fall and Winter this year:
- Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or other space heaters.
- Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
- Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
- Test smoke alarms monthly.
- Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
- Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room and burn only dry, seasoned wood. Allow ashes to cool before disposing of in a metal container, which is kept a safe distance from the home.
- Install and maintain carbon monoxide (CO) alarms to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Make sure all fuel-burning equipment is vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
