Belleville Fire and Rescue is reminding residents to keep fire safety in mind as temperatures are set to turn colder once again.
“We often see more home fires during the winter months due to heating equipment and appliances,” stated Belleville Fire Chief Mark MacDonald. “People need to pay close attention to potential fire hazards such as fireplaces, furnaces, chimneys, vents and space heaters.”
The fire department is offering some simple things people can do to stay fire safe during these colder months:
- Have all fuel-burning appliances inspected annually by a registered fuel contractor. Visit COSafety.ca to find a local contractor.
- Keep chimneys and intake/exhaust vents for furnaces and heating appliances free of debris, ice and snow accumulations to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) build-up from inefficient combustion.
- Burn dry, well-seasoned wood in fireplaces and woodstoves to reduce the risk of excessive creosote build-up in chimneys.
- Allow ashes from your fireplace or woodstove to cool before emptying them into a metal container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep the container outside.
- Keep space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including curtains, upholstery and clothing.
- Replace worn or damaged electrical wires and connections on vehicles and extension cords and use the proper gauge extension cord for vehicle block heaters.
- Consider using approved timers for vehicle block heaters rather than leaving heaters on all night.
- Ensure vehicles are not left running inside any garage or building.
- Ensure there is a working smoke alarm on every storey and outside all sleeping areas of the home.
- Install CO alarms to alert you to the presence of this deadly gas.
Belleville Fire and Rescue reminds everyone the Ontario Fire Code requires smoke alarms to be installed on every storey of a home and outside all sleeping areas. Carbon monoxide alarms are required outside all sleeping areas if the home has a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. For more information about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, or fire safety, contact Belleville Fire and Rescue at 613-966-6929.
Link to original article on intelligencer.ca: Residents reminded to practice safety in cold weather