Hospital expert advises about wintertime fire safety

Three hundred lives are lost annually due to residential fires started by space heaters and fireplaces, according to Neil Bryant.
The regional safety expert for Community Medical Center here and Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood said more than 10,000 residential fires are started from portable or fixed space heaters annually and another 15,000 fires are associated with fireplaces and chimneys."
Because this is the season when deaths and injuries occur from heaters and fireplaces, every home must have working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms," said Bryant. "Heaters that are placed too close to flammable materials such as curtains, furniture or bedding can cause fires. Fireplaces with cracked, blocked or dirty chimneys are also a fire hazard, as are embers that escape and reach flammable materials."
Bryant said in addition to portable space heaters and fireplaces, residents should be careful when using ovens, ranges and water heaters, which can also produce fires and emit carbon monoxide.
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