Heating safety tips could save lives

When temperatures drop, the chances of house and structure fires go up. It’s a correlation that firefighters in Maine have come to recognize, but try to change.

Earlier this week firefighters prevented a chimney fire from burning a local home. Assistant Hudson Fire Chief Bill Grant said the dampers on the stove had been turned down low to maximize the heat, causing the chimney to overheat.

A resident at the home, checking the stove one last time before going to bed, heard rumblings in the chimney and outside saw sparks coming from the chimney, Grant said.

The chimney got so hot, it cracked. Firefighters later discovered that roof rafters had begun to char.

“It wouldn’t have been much longer before the house would have caught on fire,” Grant said Wednesday.

In an effort to reduce the chances of fires this winter, local fire departments are offering advice on how to stay warm and safe.

Working chimneys should be inspected for cracks or other damage once a year and cleaned as frequently, Grant said. Local fire departments can clean chimneys or at least may be able to identify a cleaning service, said Grant, who stressed that any inspection should be done by a professional.

And it’s not just wood stoves that residents must be aware of this winter. Any kind of heating element, whether gas oven, propane heater or oil furnace, can pose a fire threat if not handled properly.

That means keeping combustibles far enough away from heat sources, a minimum 36 inches, said Capt. Pete Metcalf of the Veazie Fire Department. Furnaces can backfire or otherwise malfunction and anything combustible nearby could catch on fire, he said. Even wood placed near a fireplace for convenience could provide a foothold for fire.

Metcalf described a fire on Christmas morning in which a Veazie woman turned on her stovetop instead of the oven and left the room. The resulting heat burned a cover and toaster, scoring the nearby cabinets and wall before it was extinguished.

Anyone using kerosene heaters should provide adequate ventilation. Metcalf said that some people in smaller housing units may be tempted to stave off the cold by heating areas with their ovens. That’s not what they were made for, he said.

Metcalf also recommended that homes have carbon monoxide detectors in place, one per level near sleeping areas, similar to the recommendations for smoke detectors.

Safety precautions should also be taken when dealing with the remnants of a heating fire. Ash should never be disposed of in plastic containers which can melt and burn anything nearby. Instead, Grant said, metal containers should be used and the ashes stored away from combustibles.

Both Grant and Metcalf said that when in doubt, contact your local fire department for helpful advice.

“It’s better to err on the side of caution than wind up having a serious problem,” Grant said.