DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Public Safety offers these 10 fire safety tips to get ahead of the winter freeze as you prepare to enter the holiday. Iowans are more likely to have a home fire during the winter months of October through January. The combination of portable heating appliances, increased holiday cooking and candle use have contributed to past fire deaths during the winter months. It’s never too early to prepare your home for the winter heating and holiday season.
Use the following safety checklist to make your winter a fire safe time of the year:
- Our furnace has been inspected and serviced by a qualified professional during the last 12 months.
- Our chimneys and vents have been cleaned and inspected by a qualified professional. I have checked my chimney for creosote build-up.
- Our wood for our fireplace or wood stove is dry, seasoned wood.
- We have a covered metal container ready to use to dispose cooled ashes.
- Our portable space heaters have an automatic shut-off and are placed 3 feet away from anything that can burn; like paper, bedding or walls.
- All of our appliances including portable space heaters are plugged directly into an outlet.
- We have tested our smoke alarms and made sure they are working.
- We have smoke alarms located on every level of the home including all bedrooms.
- We have tested our carbon monoxide alarms and made sure they are working.
- We will not leave cooking equipment unattended at any time.
