The Arcata Fire District Reminds us of Winter Appliance Safety

Eureka, calif. (KIEM)- Humboldt County is starting to cool down, meaning our heating appliances are seeing the light of day once again. We begin to turn up those thermostats and plug-in those heaters, but this should be done with caution. It is not uncommon for these appliances to cause fire incidents.

We talked to the Arcata Fire District about the precautions that should be taken when dealing with common household heating appliances.

Chris Emmons, the Assistant Chief at Arcata Fire District says that Humboldt County was once notorious for heating appliance-related fires.

“Humboldt County actually was known to have several floor furnace fires over the years, just because it’s a colder area,” said Emmons. “It seems like we go through a quick change from having really nice weather to cold weather and folks haven’t necessarily cleaned out their floor furnaces or their wall furnaces yet and they’ll put furniture over them and they’ll kick on and start a fire.”

He explained that the most common mistake made was thinking your furnace is off when it was not.

“People think they’re off and they’re not. They’re just set to a low temperature. So, for instance, if they set it to 58 degrees or maybe 62 degrees and then it hits 60 degrees, it might kick on.”

With Halloween around the corner, Emmons recommends that jack-o’-lanterns be battery-powered.

“We don’t recommend using candles in pumpkins or jack-o’-lanterns anymore. That’s kind of a safety issue. You can get the little lights that are battery operated,” said Emmons. “and for electric lights, don’t put too many strings together when you’re doing your lighting. You run the risk of overloading circuits and they may just trip the circuit breaker and go out. Or you could run into the issue of having heat up causing a fire.”

Assistant Chief Emmons highlights the importance of smoke alarms in the home.

“It’s what’s going to save lives. Those are the things that save lives the most,” he said. “They’re the cheapest insurance policy you can get.”

For more information on heating and fire safety, you can visit: arcatafire.org