Heating Safety

With the arrival of winter comes chilly weather. These months can be wonderful, especially when you have a warm place to enjoy it. However with the joys of these comforts, there are always precautions.

Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires and deaths.

Portable Heating Equipment Safety Tips

• Keep anything that can melt or burn at least one metre (three feet) away from heating equipment (i.e., furnace, fireplace, wood stove, portable space heater).
• Never use an oven to heat your home.
• Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment like water heaters or central heating equipment.
• Always turn all portable heaters off when leaving the room, going to bed, or leaving the house.
• If using fuel burning space heaters, make sure it is the correct kind of fuel specified by the manufacturer.

Indoor Fireplace Safety Tips

• Ensure fireplaces have sturdy screens to stop sparks from flying around the room.
• If using a wood stove, ensure it is seasoned wood.
• Ensure all ashes are completely cooled before putting them in a metal container.
• Store metal containers away from your home.
• Glass on gas fireplaces can get extremely hot, keep children and pets at least one metre (three feet) from the fireplace when it is on.
• Have a licensed gas technician inspect gas fireplaces annually.
• All fuel-burning equipment should be vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
• Test your smoke and CO alarms once a month by pressing the test button. Change the batteries at least twice a year, unless there is an indication that the batteries need to be replaced sooner.

Chimneys

Visit the Chimney Safety page to learn more.

For more heating fire safety information, visit the NFPA heating page and NFPA portable heaters page.