Keep Your Family Safe From Fire This Winter
By: Michaela MacDonald
Updated: November 28, 2012
As temperatures drop, household fire risk go up.
"Its a simple mistake to make not even thinking about it, but it happens every year," said Fire Marshal Robert Loveless.
Loveless says that mistake is improper disposal of fireplace ashes. Something that cost one Lubbock family their home last weekend.
"If you were to stick your hand down into them you would probably still feel heat 24 hours later, and for that reason we suggest that you put that into a metal can and take that can somewhere outside of your house. Not anywhere under the roof line," said Loveless.
Cause number two is placing space heaters too close to furniture.
"If you look on the sides or bottom of these, nearly all of them will have instructions to keep three feet away, and so we are talking approximately this far away, from anything that will burn," Loveless said.
He says he wants you to make sure your space heater has a "tip switch."
"We want to make sure that if something it turns that over that it is going to go off and not keep going," he said.
And Loveless says the biggest cause of fires each year is unattended candles.
"Every year we have fires from people who just forget, they get busy. They get a phone call, they run out and they leave a candle going. A few hours later we're there at their house," said Loveless.
If you love the smell of candles but not the risk, Loveless says there are safer options.
"To replace the smell we recommend these, its just a wax smelter that uses a bulb and some wax in here and it will eventually melt this wax and put that fragrance off," he said.
Loveless says the first line of defense against fire is a working smoke detector. He wants you to check to make sure yours is working because it could save your life.
"Its a simple mistake to make not even thinking about it, but it happens every year," said Fire Marshal Robert Loveless.
Loveless says that mistake is improper disposal of fireplace ashes. Something that cost one Lubbock family their home last weekend.
"If you were to stick your hand down into them you would probably still feel heat 24 hours later, and for that reason we suggest that you put that into a metal can and take that can somewhere outside of your house. Not anywhere under the roof line," said Loveless.
Cause number two is placing space heaters too close to furniture.
"If you look on the sides or bottom of these, nearly all of them will have instructions to keep three feet away, and so we are talking approximately this far away, from anything that will burn," Loveless said.
He says he wants you to make sure your space heater has a "tip switch."
"We want to make sure that if something it turns that over that it is going to go off and not keep going," he said.
And Loveless says the biggest cause of fires each year is unattended candles.
"Every year we have fires from people who just forget, they get busy. They get a phone call, they run out and they leave a candle going. A few hours later we're there at their house," said Loveless.
If you love the smell of candles but not the risk, Loveless says there are safer options.
"To replace the smell we recommend these, its just a wax smelter that uses a bulb and some wax in here and it will eventually melt this wax and put that fragrance off," he said.
Loveless says the first line of defense against fire is a working smoke detector. He wants you to check to make sure yours is working because it could save your life.
