By Dave Skutnik

Many have had to turn up the heat over the past few days and the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Region urges families to safely heat their home to avoid home fires.

Heating equipment is the second leading causes of home fires. Red Cross home fire responses typically rise in the Philadelphia area as the weather gets colder, and that’s already been happening over the past week. In fact, Red Cross volunteers responded to 17 homes fires last week after responding to only two during the first week of November. Already this month, the Red Cross has helped 99 people displaced by a fire with urgent needs like emergency lodging, financial assistance and recovery planning.

“Colder temperatures often bring the increased risk of home heating fires, and we want everyone to stay safe by properly warming their home,” said Guy Triano, Regional CEO for the Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

How to heat your home safely

A 2020 Red Cross survey showed that more than half of us have used a space heater — which is involved in most fatal home heating fires. Provide at least three feet of space around all heating equipment, and never leave space heaters unattended. Follow these additional tips:

• If you must use a space heater, place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface, such as a ceramic tile floor. Don’t place it on rugs and carpets, or near bedding and drapes; keep away children and pets.
• Plug space heater power cords directly into outlets — never an extension cord. Turn it off every time you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.
• Never leave a fire burning in the fireplace unattended. Make sure any embers in the fireplace are extinguished before going to bed or leaving home. Use a glass or metal fire screen to keep embers in the fireplace.
• Have furnaces, chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves inspected annually by a professional and cleaned if necessary.

Take two steps to prevent fire tragedies

To help protect your family year-round, test your smoke alarms monthly and practice your home fire escape plan until everyone can escape in less than two minutes — the amount of time you may have to get out of a burning home before it’s too late. Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including an escape plan to practice with your family. You can also download the free Red Cross Emergency app by searching for ‘American Red Cross’ in app stores.