A few fire safety tips ...

By Carrie J. Sidener

Published: November 22, 2008

Heating equipment is the lead-ing cause of home fires and deaths during the winter months — and has already claimed two lives in Lynchburg.

 
For more information about fire prevention, visit http://www.nfpa.org. To schedule a smoke alarm installation in Lynchburg, call the Lynchburg Fire & Rescue at (434) 455-6360. In the counties, contact your local fire department.

Information provided by the Lynchburg Fire Marshall’s Office, the Bedford County Fire & Res-cue, and the National Fire Pro-tection Association.

With forecasters predicting a cold winter, fire officials are worried that they could see a spike in heating-source fires. They are emphasizing preventa-tive measures.

Virginia Ware and her daugh-ter-in-law, Lee Ware, died after fire ripped through Virginia’s Graham Street house on Oct. 11. Her son, Nick, was seriously injured. Officials said that cloth-ing placed too close to a base-board heater contributed to the fatal fire.

Each year, more than 60,000 houses catch fire and hundreds die in heating-source related fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Heating equipment causes one in six house fires.

The association is concerned that cold temperatures coupled with higher fuel prices and the economic downturn will drive more people to use alternative heating sources, which could lead to an upswing in fires.

Many fires are easily prevent-able if residents pay attention to heating sources and what is around them, said Lynchburg Fire Marshal Greg Wormser.

“The thing that bothers me the most is when we have a fire that is the result of carelessness,” Wormser said. “If they had better monitored their cooking or changed the batteries in the smoke alarm or didn’t put things so close to a heater… We feel for those people. I wish there was a way that we could go to every door and make sure it was safe but that is impossible.”

Fatal house fires share a common denominator — no early warning, Wormser said. No smoke alarms, the batteries are dead, the alarms won’t go off. Early warning can mean the difference between escaping a house fire unharmed or realizing the house is aflame too late to get out.

Fire officials have several tips:
- Check smoke alarms monthly. Replace the batteries when changing clocks for day-light savings time. At least one smoke detector should be in every home, near the sleeping area. More is better. Most fire departments, including Lynchburg’s, will install smoke detectors free of charge.

- If you use any heating source other than a heat pump, install a carbon monoxide detec-tor and test it weekly.

“Carbon monoxide is an odor-less, colorless gas,” said Janet Blankenship, of Bedford County’s Fire and Rescue. “You can be overcome by it before you know it.”

- Chimneys should be cleaned and inspected every year, before fires are lit at the start of the winter heating sea-son.

- Only burn outside timber in a fireplace. Refrain from putting in creosote logs, clothing, paper, or other materials.

- Fireplaces should only be used with a screen to catch any wayward sparks. Rugs used near the fireplace need to be flame- retardant.

- When removing ashes from a wood stove or fireplace, put them in a metal container to make sure they have completely cooled before dumping them outside. Sometimes that can take days, Blankenship said. Two years ago, a Forest home was destroyed when the owner put fireplace ashes outside and the wind carried them to the back house and ignited the siding.

- When using heaters, fire-places or alternative heating sources, keep anything flamma-ble at least three feet away. Heaters should also be placed at least three feet from the wall.

Space heaters account for about one-third of the home heating fires and almost three-fourths of home heating fire deaths, according to the associa-tion.

- Never leave a heater unat-tended or running while you sleep.

“If a heating device is not un-der direct adult supervision, it should be turned off,” Wormser said.

- Never use an oven to heat the home.

- Only use heating equipment that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.

The leading cause of house fires is cooking, according to the association. Those numbers peak on Thanksgiving Day.

Tips for safer cooking:
- Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you have to leave the kitchen, turn the stove off.

- While simmering, baking, boiling or roasting food, check it regularly and remain at home while food is cooking. Use a timer for a reminder that the oven or stove is on.

- Don’t cook in loose clothing or items with dangling sleeves. They can come in contact with the burner or flame and ignite.

- Keep children at least three feet away from the stove or other cooking devises. Use the stove’s back burners if you have children to keep pots from being knocked off the stove.

- Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, bags, food packaging or towel — away from the stovetop.

- Clean up food and grease from burners and the stovetop.