Weather Tidbits: Winter Heating Safety

We’ll be discussing various safety tips when heating your house during winter in this edition of Weather Tidbits. First, if you are using portable heaters, make sure to turn them off when away or sleeping, and only use one heat-producing appliance per outlet. Keep flammable objects like books at least three feet away from heat sources like a fireplace. For active fireplaces, have your chimney swept annually, and use a metal or heat-tempered glass screen to surround and barricade the fireplace with. Never use an extension cord or power strips for heaters. Have your furnace inspected and cleaned annually. Finally, install and test all of your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are working properly.