Safety should be the number one consideration when heating your home. Have your home’s heating system checked annually by a qualified professional. Furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves and their chimneys should be inspected and cleaned prior to the start of every heating season. Convenience and cost savings have increased the popularity of alternate, potentially dangerous, sources of heating (e.g., portable space heaters, kerosene heaters, and wood burning stoves). These devices must be used according to their instructions and with extreme caution. Keep children and pets away from all heating sources, and review the following suggestions for using alternate heat sources wisely.

Fireplaces and Wood Burning Stoves

• The floor immediately in front of a fireplace (approximately 3 feet) should not be covered with a rug or carpet.
• Allow enough clearance between a wood burning stove and combustible materials such as walls, floor coverings, ceilings, curtains, and furniture. A local home inspector or your city’s planning and zoning department can tell you the code requirements for installing a wood burning stove where you live.
• A wood stove must be placed on an approved stove board to protect your floor from heat and hot coals.
• Make sure the flue is open before lighting a fire.
• Do not close the flue until a fire is completely out.
• Use a fireplace screen to prevent sparks that could ignite nearby objects.
• Never use gasoline or lighter fluid to start a fire.
• When lighting a gas fireplace, strike a match first, then turn on the gas.
• Burn only dry, seasoned wood; dispose of the cooled ashes in a closed metal container outside your home.
• Never leave a fire burning unattended in the fireplace.

Portable Space Heaters

• Allow at least 3 feet between the heating equipment and anything that is flammable.
• Never leave a heater on when you are not in the room or when you go to sleep. Do not leave children or pets unattended around any heating source.
• Don’t use an extension cord with a portable heater. The current from the heater could melt the cord and cause a fire.
• Never accelerate the drying of clothes by placing them on top of a heater. Use a drying rack instead.

Kerosene Heaters

• Kerosene heaters are illegal in some areas. Check with local authorities before using one.
• Make sure the room has proper ventilation.
• Do not use any fluid that is not recommended for your heater. Refuel outside, and only after the heater has cooled down.
• Check the wick every couple of weeks during the heating season. If the wick is dirty, clean it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Since a kerosene heater has a constant open flame, it should not be used in a room where there are flammable solvents, aerosol sprays, gasoline or any type of oil.