QUINCY (WGEM) – After the first blast of winter weather, the Quincy Fire Department says now is the time for people to be thinking about heating safety.
The department said they receive about 100 fire calls every year with half of those calls happen during the winter months.
Firefighter Bryan Meyer said space heaters are the cause of many of those fires.
He said if you are using one, don’t use an extension cord as it can be a tripping hazard and also overload the socket.
Meyer said it’s important to keep a three foot area around the heater clear when it’s in use.
“I know it’s hard for people to keep that space around a space heater, you want to sit in front of it or stuff gets busy and you put a basket of clothes in front of it, it’s just going to heat that up an eventually cause a fire,” he said.
Meyer said when you are buying a space heater, make sure it has safety features including a tip-over shut off function and a grill over the heating components.
He also said to make sure the heater is appropriate for the space you’re trying to heat as a powerful heater in a small space can put it at risk of catching on fire.
Furnace experts said now is the time for people to get ready for the winter weather.
Those at Peters Heating and Air said homeowners can be doing basic maintenance checks like making sure the furnace filter is in good condition.
Vice president Lance Peters said it pays to have a professional come out and look at your furnace now to make sure it’s good to go.
“There is a lot of things that can go wrong with a furnace,” Peters said. “If it’s going to go wrong, you want it to go wrong now and not when it’s zero degrees out on a Saturday night.”
Peters said one of the biggest issues their technicians run into is trouble with a heat exchanger. He said they can get plugged up, cracked, or rusted which can be a carbon monoxide hazard.
Meyer said now is also the time for people to check their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
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