Parsons Fire Chief Brad Boss is encouraging safe practices with candles and space heaters in homes and businesses to avoid fire hazards.
Boss said a number of fires nationally are caused by someone leaving a candle burning unattended. The other hazard is space heaters that overload a circuit or flammable material left too close to the unattended heaters.
He said make sure the space heater is the only thing plugged into a circuit. Adding other appliances to that same outlet may cause a problem, including a fire.
“Don’t run multiple things out of that same (outlet) because your space heaters pull a lot of juice,” Boss said.
He said there also should be three to five feet of clearance around the space heaters. That way, if something gets knocked over it may have less of a chance to come in contact with the hot space heater.
Heating equipment, including space heaters, is responsible for 12% of all reported home fires, he said, but heating equipment is responsible for about 8 out of 10 deaths, or 77%, and 7 out of 10 injuries.
Boss encourages maintenance and safety checks on heating equipment, including cleaning the flue on fire places.
He said homeowners should limit the use of extension cords because they may not be able to support appliances that use a lot of electricity, including space heaters. Power strips or surge protectors may have safety features not available in extension cords, he said.
Older houses have their own challenges if their electrical wiring hasn’t been updated.
See SAFETY, Page 10.
“These older houses weren’t built for the amount of power that we use anymore. And that’s why residents should be a whole lot safer, trying to understand how much they are or are not plugging into outlets just to not overload those systems,” Boss said.
“We use a lot more power than what those houses were built for,” he said.
He also encouraged homeowners to be safe with lithium ion batteries that are used for cell phones, cars and other appliances. If the battery is making a hissing noise, it should be discarded. He said people also should charge electric scooter batteries outside. Fires started by the breakdown of lithium batteries can move fast and throw off a lot of sparks.
A recent fire in Parsons was caused by an unattended space heater in a garage. And in the cold winter months, the space heaters are more likely to be used.
When you leave a room with a space heater, Boss said you should turn off the space heater. Do not leave it unattended.
He also encouraged safe handling of candles. Never allow them to burn unattended because this could start a fire. As with space heaters, Boss encouraged people to blow out the candle before leaving the room or the house.
