Stay Safe & Warm This Winter
With winter far from over it is really important to drive home this message; if you use space heaters in your home during the winter, please be extremely careful.
Space heaters account for about one-third of all house fires during the winter and about 80 percent of deaths that occur in those fires. Sadly, a space heater was to blame for a fire that claimed the lives of 17 people, including nine children, in the Bronx in January 2022.
As a former police commander with the NYPD and Chief of Detectives in Baltimore, I know just how quickly an emergency can go from dangerous to deadly and I don’t want to see what happened in the Bronx happen anywhere else – including here in Rockland.
If you’re using a space heater, please take a moment to read the following safety advice from our Office of Fire and Emergency:
- Keep the heater at least three feet from anything flammable.
- Plug it directly into an outlet.
- Make sure it was tested by Underwriter Laboratories, a non-profit dedicated to public safety (there will be a sticker on the unit itself or the box it came in).
- Lastly always close the door when you’re evacuating from a fire.
But portable heaters aren’t the only fire hazards around the home. FEMA urges families to be aware of the following dangers:
- Portable generators not often used or maintained.
- Leaking gas lines, damaged gas propane containers, & leaking vehicle gas tanks.
- Appliances and vehicles exposed to water.
- Debris near severed electrical wires and transformers.
- Damaged or downed utility lines.
- Exposed electrical outlets and wiring.
Knowing what life-threatening hazards are around your home are very important and allows families to take action to prevent injuries and loss of life. Please be safe and take care of yourselves and your family this winter!
