HANCOCK COUNTY — Winter is the busiest and most dangerous time of the year for firefighters, because people will do whatever they can to stay warm.
They’ll build fires in unsafe places; use space heaters as a major source of heat; overuse electric blankets; and fire up kerosene heaters in enclosed spaces.
The cold temperatures also make fighting fires more difficult; the extreme weather can exhaust even the fittest firefighters, and it pushes equipment to the brink.
With the high temperature today expected to be around zero as the coldest weather in years settles over the region, experts are reminding residents to play it safe and avoid danger.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 890 people die in winter home fires each year, and half of all home heating fires occur in the months of December, January and February.
Winter home fires account for 8 percent of the total number of fires in the United States but result in 30 percent of all fire deaths, FEMA says.
Greenfield Fire Territory Chief James Roberts said many winter fires happen when people overload electrical circuits with space heaters and electric blankets.
Cords on space heaters and electric blankets can get hot and need to be monitored.
“Especially in some of these older homes where the wiring may not be as safe as it is in some of the newer homes,” Roberts said.
People who use space heaters and electric blankets need to plug in only one heat-producing appliance into an electrical outlet at a time. It’s also a good idea to keep anything that can burn at least three feet from any heat source, such as fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators or space heaters.
People are asked to keep an eye on their furnaces in the extreme cold. They should also check their chimneys for creosote buildup and use carbon monoxide detectors.
Also, fire safety officials say if people use portable, gasoline-powered generators, they need to keep the machines outside. Fumes from the engine in an enclosed space — even a garage — can be deadly.
Officials also want to remind people cooking is the leading cause of all winter home fires.
Tony Bratcher, public information officer for the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department, said fighting fires in extreme weather is dangerous. At a recent structure fire in Philadelphia, firefighters felt the effects of the cold temperatures immediately.
“When I got back to the station everyone was in bed by 9 p.m.” Bratcher said. “In cold temperatures, your body has to work harder to keep the core temperature up.”
While fire is the biggest danger, getting stranded is perhaps the most likely emergency. Bratcher said issues with dead batteries, frozen coolant and even low tire pressure — which can cause a tire to fail — can lead to an unexpected emergency.
Safety officials it’s a good idea to keep an extra set of warm clothing, a blanket and jumper cables in their vehicles.
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Here are some tips to reduce the threat of fires in your home.
Plug only one heat-producing appliance, such as an electric blanket or a space heater, into a single outlet at a time.
Monitor cords on your electric blanket or space heater. If they are hot to the touch, unplug them for a while.
Keep any flammable material — papers, upholstery or curtains, for example — away from heat sources. A space heater should have a radius of three feet from any other object.
Use generators only in a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors. Fumes from a gasoline-powered engine can be fatal in enclosed spaces.
Source: Greenfield Fire Territory
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