AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – With colder temperatures arriving, fire experts are sharing advice for safely keeping homes warm with space heaters.
Fire experts say space heaters should only be plugged into wall outlets and not extension cords. They recommend turning the heater off when sleeping or away from home.
Officials advise getting a space heater with tip-over protection, meaning a space heater that shuts off automatically when knocked over. Fire experts say space heaters should be kept at least three feet from anything flammable.
“Non-traditional ways of heating your house, like an oven or stove, that’s just not safe,” said Wendy Giannini-King, a community risk coordinator. “Stoves and ovens were designed to cook your food, not to heat your whole house so when those appliances run for a long period of time it really brings them to the point of danger.”
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Fire experts add that people should never use ovens as a source of heat. They also recommend making sure heaters are on a hard, flat surface and keeping them out of high-traffic areas of the home.
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