STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
DIVISION OF FIRE SAFETY

INFORMATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

Now is the time to prevent a home heating fire.

When the mercury drops, the risk of home fires starts to rise. Your family could be in serious danger! Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of winter home fires in Vermont.

According to Director John Wood of the Division of Fire Safety, “Most people think they are safest in their own homes, homes are actually where we are at greatest risk of fire death”. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that 3,145 people died nationwide in home fires in 2003. More than 80 percent of fatal fires occur in the home.

And while October is known for fire safety in schools and workplaces and fire stations, autumn also signals the beginning of the heating season. Director Wood reports that, “last year in Vermont there were over 1,927 structure fires and heating equipment is the leading cause of home fires in the state”. Heating equipment was also the third leading cause of fire deaths in Vermont for 1996-2005.

The Division of Fire Safety and your local Fire Department want to keep Vermonters safe and hold down the number of heating-related fires this season. But we need your help. Here's what you can do:

• Keep things that burn at least 3 feet away from heating equipment.
• Use fireplaces, woodstoves, heaters and furnaces properly and carefully, with good maintenance.
• Get furnaces and chimneys inspected once a year and cleaned or repaired if needed.
• Closely watch children and pets in rooms with heating equipment, and keep them safely away.
• Turn off portable space heaters when you get ready to sleep or if you leave the room.
• Working smoke and CO alarms are essential in every household Install and maintain alarms inside your home to provide early warning. Fire sprinkler systems also provide additional protection and save lives and property.

NFPA data shows that most home heating equipment fires involve portable or fixed space heaters (including associated chimneys), because they require more attention. Builders usually install central heating furnaces; space heaters are more likely to be installed or placed by occupants and here's where caution should be observed.

Vermont’s local Firefighters work hard to help people understand home fire dangers, especially during Fire Prevention Week, October 8-14, 2006. This important annual educational event has been sponsored by NFPA for more than 80 years. It's the one time when the fire service all across the United States and Canada join forces to make community fire safety education a top priority.

Fire Prevention Week is a good time to check out your home's heating equipment because it comes just before the start of the heating season. Get your chimney inspected and the furnace tuned up. Make sure you have a fireplace screen. If you're buying new heating equipment, always select products listed by an independent testing laboratory. Choose a qualified installer and follow all codes and manufacturers' instructions. And save the user's guide that comes with the heating equipment, so you can keep it properly maintained in the future.

Preventing heating equipment fires are simple - just keep these safety tips in mind and you'll be on your way to a safer heating season.

For additional information visit www.vtfiresafety.org or NFPA.org