According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters (electric and non-electric) account for 33% of all winter house fires. However, this statistic is misleading because it implies that a vast number of all space heaters are inherently unsafe; which is not the case.
Rather, it's the improper use of the space heater, not the heater itself, that is responsible for a third of all winter house fires. And approximately half of these fires are the result of locating the heating appliance too close to combustible items such as furniture, bedding, clothing and draperies.
Of course, defective heating devices appear on the market from time to time, but a recall is a rare event.
For years, one of the most important electric heater safety tips was to always plug it directly into the wall outlet and never use an extension cord. This warning extended to power strips as well as surge protectors.
But, just like conventional medical wisdom changes from time to time (or day-to-day), so also does the thinking about best practices for space heater safety - at least according to a recent investigative piece from the Fox News affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana.
While discussing space heater safety, one of the participants, Lt. Larry Tracy of the Indianapolis Fire Department, made an interesting recommendation to avoid one cause of space heater fires.
According to Lt. Tracy, a space heater plugged in the wrong way could start a fire that may go unnoticed until it's too late. He went on to explain: "They short out at the heater or they short out possibly behind the wall, which you can't see. Then, the residents end up going to sleep, later on, they have a fire situation."
His solution to this potential hazard is not to plug the heater directly into the wall outlet as previously recommended, but instead plug it into a surge protector equipped with a built in circuit breaker.
A word of caution here. Although they look similar, a surge protector and a power strip are not interchangeable. While both can accommodate multiple plugs, only the surge protector offers the automatic shut off feature.
Also,the extension cords referred to in articles like this one are the indoor, 6 foot long, 16 gauge variety you can pick up just about anywhere for five or six dollars. These are fine for low powered items such as lamps or computers, but are altogether too flimsy to safely handle the amps that an electric heater draws.
For more safety tips and how to properly size a space heater, please read this article at Alternative Heating Info.
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Space Heater Safety: An Important Update
