With the cold winter temperatures finally arriving in Manitoba, did you know that heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fire deaths?
Brandon Fire & Emergency Services is reminding the public of a few simple safety tips and precautions that can prevent most heating fires from happening.
THREE FEET FROM THE HEAT
– Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood store or portable space heater.
– Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around the stove, open fires and space heaters.
BE WARM AND SAFE THIS WINTER
– Never use your oven to heat your home.
– Have a qualified professional install water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
– Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
– Remember to turn off portable heaters when leaving the room or going to bed.
WOOD-BURNING STOVES
– In wood stoves, burn only dry, seasoned wood. In pellet stoves, burn only dry, seasoned wood pellets.
– Start the fire with newspaper or kindling. Never use a flammable liquid, such as lighter fluid, kerosene or gasoline to start a fire.
– Keep the doors of the wood stove closed unless loading or stoking the live fire.
– Allow ashes to cool before disposal. Douse and saturate the ashes with water and place in a tightly covered metal container.
FIREPLACES
– Always use a metal or heat-tempered glass screen on a fireplace and keep it in place.
– Burn only dry, seasoned wood. Never burn trash in the fireplace.
– Use only newspaper or kindling wood to start a fire.
– Never use flammable liquids (lighter fluid, kerosene, gasoline) to start a fire.
