Keep your family and home safe this winter with these helpful tips:
Heating system safety tips
- Have a technician or HVAC professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
- Install wood burning stoves following manufacturer’s instructions or have a professional do the installation. All fuel-burning equipment should be vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
- Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
- Keep portable generators away from windows and use them as far away from the house as possible.
Fireplace safety tips
- Make sure that your fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks flying into the room.
- Fire ashes should always be cool before putting them into any kind of covered, metal container.
- Never put ashes into a plastic container.
- Keep fireplace ashes containers a safe distance away from your home.
General home heating safety tips
- Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from heating equipment, like your furnace, fireplace or portable space heater.
- Have a 3-foot designated “Kid Free Zone” around open fires and space heaters.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
- Plug only one heat producing appliance (such as a space heater or portable radiator) into one electrical outlet at a time.
- Remember to always turn portable heaters off when leaving any room or before going to bed.
- Always use the correct fuel, specific by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.
- Test your smoke alarms monthly.
- Make sure you have carbon monoxide (CO) alarms installed in your home to avoid the risk of CO poisoning and test them monthly.
- If you smell gas in your home or coming from your gas heater, do not light the appliance. Leave your home immediately and call your local fire department or gas company.
- Never leave candles burning unattended.
*Source: nfpa.org