Space heater use increases this time of the year. Monmouth Fire Chief Casey Rexroat says placement of the heaters is crucial in preventing house fires:
“You want to make sure and set them away from furniture and curtains, at least three feet away from everything. They project heat out of the front and you don’t want to get anything too hot. One of the biggest things that we see is with the cords to use the space heaters, to get those three feet away from things, a lot of people will use an extension cord with the space heater. Most times the extension cord that people use is not rated for that heater. The space heaters use a tremendous amount of electricity and they try and pull as much electricity through a smaller power cord that is not made for it, it can heat up very very quickly. If that is lying across carpet or a piece of furniture, it can cause a fire pretty quickly.”
For the entire interview, click here.
