House fires are more common in winter than any other season, and that’s due largely to heating devices. While keeping warm is an important part of staying comfortable and healthy during these cold months, staying safe is just as essential. Follow these tips to minimize your chances of a safety emergency while using heaters and fireplaces this winter.

Keep flammable objects at least 3 feet from heat sources.

Flammable objects like bedding, clothes, curtains, and more can catch fire if they come into contact with a heat source or open flame. Radiator heaters, heating vents, fireplaces, and other similar things should have an at least 3 foot buffer zone around them in order to prevent fires.

Only plug 1 heater into an outlet at a time.

Heaters run hot, both in temperature and energy consumption. When you run multiple heaters off of one outlet, you risk overloading that power line and causing a malfunction. At best this could result in a tripped breaker, but at worst it could cause a fire in your home.

Clean your chimney and vents every year.

If you use a fireplace or wood burning stove, keeping your chimney clean is essential to keeping your family safe. Not only can a dirty chimney increase the risk of a house fire, it increases the risk of smoke and carbon monoxide coming into your home. Another big safety tip is to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home, and test it once a month.

There are other tips on a safety sheet from FEMA, which you can view by clicking here.

Happy Holidays!