Home-heating fires can be devastating, but most are preventable by taking some simple precautions.
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of your home.
- Install carbon monoxide (CO) alarms outside each sleeping area, on every level of the home, and wherever required by laws, codes, or standards.
- Interconnect all smoke alarms so that when one sounds, they all sound.
- Test your alarms monthly and change the batteries once a year.
- Practice your home escape plan.
- Have your home heating equipment and chimney inspected annually by a qualified professional and have them cleaned if necessary.
- Use a sturdy fireplace screen in front of fireplaces to protect yourself, children, and pets from accidental contact burns.
- Allow ashes to cool before disposing of them, then be sure to put them in a metal container.
- Portable heaters need space. Keep all things that can burn, such as paper, bedding, or furniture, at least one metre (three feet) away from heating equipment and have a one metre, kid-free zone around space or portable heaters.
- Turn portable heaters off when you go to bed or leave the room.
- Plug portable heaters directly into power outlets with sufficient capacity. Don’t plug them into a power bar and never into an extension cord.
- Inspect power plugs and cables for cracked or broken plugs or loose connections and replace before using.
- Never use an oven to heat your home.
For more fire safety tips visit Calgary.ca/fire.
