House fire season: How to stay safe while staying warm

JACKSON, Tenn. — As temperatures decrease, Jackson Fire Department says the number of house fires increase due to secondary heat sources. 

To prevent your home from becoming a part of the statistic, heating and cooling companies have a few tips on how to safely heat your home.

Before turning on any heat source, check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors first.

“One of the main suggestions is to go on and turn your heat on now, number one to make sure that it is working properly,” said Lanier English, corporate operations officer for McCoy’s Heating and Air.

If you have a space heater, keep it at least three feet away from anything that can burn, and never leave the house or go to bed with it on.

“You want to be careful and keep space heaters away from children,” English said. “You don’t want to keep space heaters to where they can be knocked over. You do want to make sure that your space heater has a safety mechanism on it to where if it does get tipped over, it cuts off.”

If you have a furnace, be sure to keep the vents clear.

“Inspect the furnace to make sure that it’s clean. No installations falling around the furnace or anything like that, that could catch on fire.”

Firefighters say if you have a fireplace, use a glass or metal screen to prevent sparks from igniting anything in your home.

Lastly, never heat your home using the oven.

English says the most important thing you can do to prevent house fires is to make the investment and have a professional company come out and take a look at your heating system.

“Regardless if you have gas heating or electric heating, they’re kind of maintained the same way,” English said. “We recommend having them inspected at least once a year to make sure that everything’s in proper order.”

Firefighters also advise to have a home escape plan in case of any emergency.

For more safety tips on how to heating your home, click here.