Prevent Home Heating Fires in Your Suffield House

2/19/2021 (Permalink)

Winter is prime time for home heating fires. Avoid one in your Suffield home by following our basic tips.

We all love the comfort of a cozy, warm home when the temperature drops in north central Connecticut. Most of the time, you turn up the thermostat, set a fire in your fireplace, turn on the hot water … and comfort is literally at your fingertips. But don’t get complacent, because fire danger lurks in our home heating systems.

Follow these basic tips to reduce the chance of a home heating fire in your Suffield home.

Prevent Home Heating Fires with Regular Maintenance and Cleaning

Have your furnace inspected by an HVAC professional each year. Change your furnace filter each month and clear away anything flammable, like cardboard boxes and old paint, from the area around your furnace.

Have the HVAC expert check your water heater to be sure it is operating safely, as well.

Likewise, have your chimney cleaned every year, ideally before the heating season starts. A chimney sweep will remove soot and highly flammable creosote, and will inspect your chimney and fireplace for structural damage, like cracks, that could lead to a chimney fire.

Bonus: While you don’t use your clothes dryer to heat your home, it does contain a heating element. And if enough lint builds up in the dryer cabinet, it can ignite and cause devastating fire damage. Remove lint from the dryer’s trap after every use, and have a pro in once a year to clean the dryer duct and cabinet.

Use Your Fireplace Safely to Avoid a Home Heating Fire

Learn how to set a clean-burning fire using the top-down method, and always use a fireplace screen to prevent sparks from igniting nearby carpet or other flooring or objects.

Use Other Sources of Heat Safely to Prevent a Home Heating Fire

Space heaters are convenient, but beware: they are involved in almost three-quarters of fire-related deaths in the home. It’s important to purchase a space heater that has an emergency cut-off that will kick in if the heater is knocked over. Always plug the heater into a GFI outlet, which will cut electricity in case of a malfunction. Next, never run a space heater unattended and don’t fall asleep with one running. Finally, keep a three-foot margin around the heater when it is operating—and keep objects, furnishings, bedding, clothing, pets and especially children away.

Important: Under no circumstances should you use a gas oven to heat your home—it’s both a source of a house fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.

When you have suffered a home heating fire or other disaster at your home or business, call SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield at 860-216-2785

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