Home heating fires prompt educational campaign

Home heating fires prompt educational campaign

As more Americans turn to wood stoves and portable heaters, efforts to educate them about possible fire hazards have heated up —especially in rural areas.

One such educational campaign, “Check Your Hot Spots,” has been launched by the U.S. Fire Administration with assistance from The Wood Heating Alliance, a national trade association of manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors of wood stoves, chimney inserts, and other heating appliances.

The program is targeted for rural areas in America, where, studies indicate, home heating fires started by wood stoves and fireplaces have become the leading cause of fire incidents.

Literature will be distributed to fire departments and other local organizations to generate interest and motivate community groups to work with fire departments in reducing the number of home heating fires.

The need for such education is supported by a recent National Fire Protection Association study, which confirms that heating equipment is still the primary cause of fire incidents in the United States.

The report, “U.S. Home Heating Fire Patterns and Trends Through 1985,” was compiled from data from the NFPA’s annual study of U.S. fire departments and from the USFA’s National Fire Incident Reporting System. The report concludes that, although the number of home heating fires has declined by 14 percent since 1980, there’s nevertheless every reason for concern.

In light of international economic factors, America’s home heating preferences have changed a great deal since the 1970s. The NFPA reports that, since 1970, the percentage of households using wood as a primary heating fuel has tripled. Furthermore, from 1978 to 1985, the number of portable kerosene heaters has risen approximately tenfold.

Such a large, rapid increase in new home heating techniques —techniques that are potential fire dangers —necessitates greater efforts by interested organizations to educate owners of home heating devices in areas of maintenance, fueling, and other safety requirements.

“Home heating fire risk is greater today because there are more chances for human error,” notes John R. Hall, Jr., the NFPA’s director of fire analysis. “Correct installation of heating devices, regular cleaning, proper fuel, and ‘giving space heaters space’ will go a long way toward decreasing our home heating fire problem.”

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