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As temperatures continue to drop, space heater fires are on the rise across the Ozarks. The Springfield Fire Department responded to three of these fires just last week. KSMU’s Melanie Foehrweiser has details on how these fires can be prevented.
Cara Erwin, life and safety educator with the Springfield Fire Department, says space heater fires happen every winter, but there are ways to prevent them.
“The first thing is make sure that the space heater is at least three feet away from anything that can burn, and that includes yourself. So we want it to be three feet away from curtains, from throw rugs, from clothing, from blankets. Again, from anything that can burn.”
Erwin says space heaters should also be kept only in the room that you are in; they aren’t meant to heat a whole house. Space heaters should also be plugged directly into the wall, not an extension cord.
“In most cases the extension cord is not appropriate to power a space heater, and as a result that power cord can get so hot that it itself can start a fire or it can cause an electrical fire as well.”
Erwin also says that older space heaters cause more concerns than newer models.
“It’s just like having a really old hair dryer. They tend to cause things to overheat and the newer ones just have better, safer functions on them. That said, just because it’s a new space heater doesn’t mean that you don’t have to follow those same safety guidelines because even the new space heaters can cause fires just like the old ones.”
Erwin says that central heating is much a safer and, in many cases, a cheaper option, but space heater fires occur in homes both with and without central heat.
“Some of the older homes are less energy efficient, so those homeowners might be more likely to use a space heater but that doesn’t necessarily mean that new homeowners are safe and that they’re choosing not to use them at all.”
For more information on how to be safe when using space heaters this winter, click here.
For KSMU News, I’m Melanie Foehrweiser.