— Athens Fire Department sees 15 to 20 house fires each year caused by the misuse of space heaters.

One year, a cat playing with a ball of Christmas gift-wrapping, batted the paper toy too close to a space heater and it ignited. When kitty swatted the ball under a coach, it caught the couch on fire and the fire department had to be called, said Tony Kirk, fire prevention chief/fire marshal for Athens Fire. Firefighters were able to carry the couch outside and save the house, but Kirk reminds residents that with winter comes the danger of heating their homes.

“Once it starts getting cool, we start seeing space-heater fires; usually because an object is placed too close to the heater,” Kirk said.

Smoke and carbon dioxide detectors

Because fires, or carbon monoxide poisoning, could occur in any home, make sure you have smoke detectors and CO detectors if you use kerosene, natural gas, wood, oil or propane.

Detectors should be installed in or near bedrooms.

In homes with children, smoke detectors should be installed near the parent or parents’ bedroom. “Children often sleep through smoke alarms,” Kirk said.

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are cheap when you consider they prevent injuries and save lives. Some stores sell combination smoke and CO alarms. If you already have one, test the batteries now and replace them every year. 

If you don’t have detectors, they are available at department stores, supermarkets, home-improvement stores and online.

Whether you are a renter or a homeowner, a 1975 federal law says you must have a smoke detector close to the area where you sleep.

Fuel heaters

Users of kerosene, wood, oil or propane heaters should test them using a CO detector before using them.

“Without a CO detector, it is impossible to tell if a heater is giving off carbon monoxide,” Kirk said. “It is odorless, colorless and you can’t tell it is there. Some of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are continuing headaches that cannot be relieved with medication, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.”

Other symptoms of this “silent killer” include flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, trouble breathing, confusion, ringing in the ears, and bright red or pink skin, according to Children’s Hospital of Boston.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 1,500 Americans die each year from accidental exposure to CO, and there are more than 10,000 injuries each year. Although most CO poisoning happens during a one-time, sudden incident, it is possible to suffer from chronic CO poisoning from a faulty furnace or heater.

Heaters at work

If you are a business owner who allows workers to use space heaters to keep their feet warm in the winter, you may want to reconsider or set some rules.

Owners of electrical space heaters should read the manual for their heaters and follow the recommended clearance, but more than 3 feet as a rule. If you use a radiant wall heater, objects should be 6 to 8 feet away.

Never plug a space heater of any kind into an extension cord; plug it directly into the wall socket.

Always unplug your space heater when you leave work or — if you use the space heater at home — before you leave home.

“Make sure you do this,” Kirk warned. “We run into a lot of people who use their heaters through the entire cold season. That puts a lot of strain on the cords and mechanics in the heater. We start seeing a breakdown on the electrical cords and that is a fire waiting to happen.”

He said Athens firefighters see a lot of space heaters used in the workplace that overheat and malfunction.

“It may not start a fire,” he said, but a lot could go wrong. For one thing, employees put them under their desks, where a piece of paper could fall near them and, if they are not unplugged at the end of the workday, they could malfunction or turn on if the temperature falls too low.

“Most space heaters when turned to the off position are actually on thermostat, so if the temperature falls to 50 degrees, they will kick on,” Kirk said.

Natural gas heaters

Before firing up that natural gas heater, water heater or stove, have it checked by a trained technician each year, Kirk warns.

“They need to be checked to make sure they are burning clean and that rust has not opened up a hole in the burn chamber that could allow carbon monoxide to enter the home through the ductwork,” he said.