By Broadus VFD Fire Chief Raymond Ragsdale

More fires happen in the winter months than any other time of the year because we spend more time indoors and use different methods to heat our home. It is important to keep fire safety in mind when you are heating your home. Data from FEMA shows that from 2013-2015, an average of 45,900 home heating fires occurred in the US every year. Those fires caused an average of 205 deaths, 725 injuries, and $506 million in property loss, per year.

If you are using a portable heater, make sure the heater has an automatic shut off if it were to tip over and keep anything that can burn such as bedding, clothing and curtains at least 3 feet from the heater. Plug portable heaters directly into the wall outlets, don’t use an extension cord.

If you are using a fireplace or wood stove, keep a glass or metal screen in front to prevent embers or sparks from jumping out and starting a fire. Try not to burn a lot of paper in your fireplace; it has a tendency to jump out. Get your chimney cleaned, and remember stove pipe may only have about a 3 year warranty, so if something happens the insurance might not cover it. It is hard to get a qualified professional stove and chimney person to our area and the fire department is not qualified to do it, so do the best you can to protect your family. Make sure you put your ashes in a metal container with a lid, and dump your ashes in a safe location; we have responded to house fires started from the ashes dumped too close outside the house or shop.

As always, make sure you have a working smoke alarm on every level of your home, and make sure they work.

It isn’t a bad idea to have a Carbon monoxide detector also; more than 150 people a year die from accidental CO poisoning from generators or fuel burning appliances such as furnaces, stoves water heaters and fire places. These alarms should be placed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of your home.

Have readily accessible fire extinguishers that are up to date and work, and know how to use them. If you question your ability, check with any or our fire department, as we would be glad to show you the proper way to use them, or watch a video on Youtube or Google.

Broadus fire has been to the schools and stressed to the younger students the importance of having a home fire escape plan, making sure everyone knows at least two ways out of the house, and where to meet once everyone is outside so everyone is accounted for.

The most important thing to remember is don’t get complacent when you are keeping your house warm, be aware of being fire safe. Things can change in an instant and fire doesn’t care, so be warm and safe.