Video: Heater Provides Valuable Lesson in Apartment Fire

[syndicaster id=’5540375′]

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — A Columbus family learns first hand the fire hazard a space heater can cause.

And firefighters say they are lucky their lesson came when it did.

A wall heater scorched through the back of a bureau filled with clothes, finally sparking a small fire at about 7:30 Wednesday morning in an apartment at the corner of 6th Avenue and 15th Street South in Columbus.

The smoke alerted the family and they were able to escape while firefighters quickly extinguished the smoking bureau.

Firefighters say if it had happened in the middle of the night, the results could have been much worse.

Residents are reminded to make sure heating devices are kept away from curtains, blankets and furniture, especially with this week’s severe cold.