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Space heaters among several holiday fire risks: Nanaimo Fire Rescue

Dec 26, 2016 | 8:41 AM

NANAIMO —Nanaimo Fire Rescue is sharing advice to help avoid a disastrous end to the holiday season.

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Ennis Mond says portable heaters have caused many serious fires in the past locally. He says a top risk with space heaters is people who use them as a primary heat source.

“They’re not designed for heating your whole home, they’re designed for heating the space you’re in,” said Mond. “It is definitely not a primary source of heat.”

He says their department has seen countless fires over the years caused by portable space heaters left on for too long. Mond says people forget about them, which often leads to trouble.

“Either they’ve been knocked over or they’ve been placed too close to combustible materials and caught fire,” he said.

He says older portable heaters are especially risky for causing fires, noting they don’t have features which automatically shut off when they get too hot. He says thankfully, there haven’t been any serious holiday related fires in Nanaimo so far this winter.

Mond has several other tips to help avoid holiday season fires:

  • Keep live Christmas trees watered
  • Turn Christmas tree lights off when unattended
  • Don’t leave lit candles unattended
  • Ensure electrical circuits are not overloaded
  • Don’t leave cooking unattended
  • Have wood stoves cleaned at least once a year