Cold air brings fire risks

OKOLONA & COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – When the cold air makes its debut, firefighters start preparing for the calls of fires sparked by space heaters.

Billy Clark said the danger often comes from improper use.

“Some of the big things is, people try to heat a large area or heat a whole house with space heaters. they’re not designed for extended use the heater gets hotter the surrounding environment,” said Clark.

But it’s not just the heater – well, turning up the heat.

“The cord heats up first obviously the extension cord heats up, and then the plug itself the receptacle in the wall heats up, and then you’ll also find that the wire which you don’t see the wire because it’s inside the wall, the wire heats up that resistance,” said Paul Guerry.

Space heaters aren’t the only culprits. As temperatures plummet, some people get creative, and that’s not always a good thing.

“We go into a lot of houses where people have the oven on or even their stove. That is very dangerous, matter of fact, a few years ago we had a fire, just outside of the city limit where they had done this as a practice every day. And they had a cabinet two three-foot across from this oven heater, and it eventually just dried it out to the point where it just ignited one day, and that’s where the fire started from,” said Terry Tucker.

Some of the biggest dangers aren’t the heaters but the items near them.

“You need to make sure it’s clear furniture, clothes, don’t be using to dry clothes. Make sure it’s not where it should be a workable space heater that has a safety mechanism that if it turns over, it turns off,” said Tucker.

“If you can’t stand between it and whatever is next to it, it’s too close. If you’re too hot It’s too hot to be close to your furniture, always plugged them directly into the wall or directly into a power strip. Do not use them for your primary source of heat. They’re only used for small areas,” said Clark.

Another good tip is never to leave your heater unattended.

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