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A NEW survey suggests that fire risks in American homes may increase this winter because more people will be using alternative heating sources – including portable heaters, stoves and fireplaces – to heat their properties.
Carried out in September, the research, commissioned by the US National Fire Protection Association and the American Red Cross, found that most people are concerned about the rising cost of heating their homes, especially given the difficult global economic situation – leading many to use alternative heating sources to reduce their energy bills.
The findings suggest that fire risks could increase because people may not take sufficient safety precautions when using and maintaining alternative heat sources.
For example, 36% of people surveyed, whose homes had fireplaces, reported that they do not clean or inspect the chimneys, while 23% of respondents did not consider it essential to make sure someone is at home when food is cooking on the stove. There are also concerns that portable heaters may not be positioned with sufficient space around them, or may be left on when people go to sleep, with the potential for them to ignite nearby items.
In addition, more than 50% of households had not thought enough about how they would escape from their property in a fire, and one-third said they disabled smoke detectors if they falsely activated.
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