The Lafayette Fire Department says this time of year, firefighters are called to many heater-related fires.
Public Information Officer Alton Trahan says inspecting your fireplaces and or space heaters annually is important.
If it’s not burning or working properly, it could not only cause a fire, but could create issues with carbon monoxide.
“Fireplaces, stove top heating, space heaters, meaning electric or gas, or sometimes central heating system, so you really want to make sure that if you have any central heating system gas in particular that it’s been inspected,” says Trahan.
Trahan says fireplaces should be inspected to prevent fires from sparking.
“Most fireplaces, they should have a spark arrestor at the top, so it keeps sparks from flying out, but it also keeps birds from building nests from the fireplace itself,” Trahan explains.
The other issue with fireplaces, according to Trahan, is to make sure the hot ashes are discarded properly.
“Make sure you discard the hot ashes outside away from the home in most likely a metal container because you don’t want to put anything plastic because it’s hot ashes,” adds Trahan.
Another big problem concerning heater-related fires are caused by space heaters.
“You should take the space heater itself and plug it directly into the wall,” says Trahan. “You don’t want to use extension cords because that’s when a hazardous is created so make sure it’s plugged directly into the wall. Give it at least three feet of space from anything that can catch on fire.”
Trahan says having at least one working smoke detector in your home is crucial for fire safety.
“There’s a button on the smoke alarm that you press to test it, and if it doesn’t sound, basically you need to change the battery and that’s the one thing you have to have in your home to save you and your family because we know that you only have a matter of minutes to get out that house once it starts to catch on fire and that’s that smoke alarm that’s going to alert you,” explains Trahan.
Trahan adds anything you use that’s electrical to heat up your home, even electric blankets, must be plugged directly into the wall, not through an extension cord.
Smoke alarms themselves last about 10 years. To see how old your smoke detectors are, look on the back for a date. If it’s older than 10 years, it may not operate effectively.