(February 14, 2014) Jackson, Tenn.- Jackson and surrounding areas have had a rash of fires in the past few weeks.
One of the reasons home catch fire during the winter is improper use of space heaters. The Jackson Fire Department has a few tips for space heater safety.
Space heaters cannot be plugged into a surge protector or an extension cord. It can overheat them and melt them.
Keep your heater at least 3 feet away from any combustibles like furniture, curtains, and anything that can be ignited by the heater.
Make sure your space heater is UL approved. If it's not UL approved, then it hasn’t been tested by the safety organization and may cause a problem. UL approved devices have the UL logo on them.
They recommend getting a tilt sensor unit. These are units that turn off when tilted over. The early ones only had two sided tilt. They recommend getting a four side tilt.
Never run any cords under rugs or doors or anything that will damage the cord.
If it is a 3 prong cord, don't try to adapt it to a two prong one by cutting off, or altering in any way, the third prong.
They also say never unplug by pulling on the cord. Go to the outlet and pull out the plug. It could break down the wiring and start melting the cord.
If you have old or damaged cords, get them replaced. Also clean out any lint on cords that may have collected on them while in storage.
