Cold snap a good time to remember fire safety

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on February 6, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Due to the recent extreme cold, the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services is sharing some heating safety tips with residents while they navigate the cold snap.
Troy Hicks, Chief Fire Marshall with Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services, says the cold snap is the perfect time to remind residents on how to stay safe and prevent fires while trying to stay warm.
“I want to remind everyone, that especially during the winter months and during cold snaps like this, that usually home heating fires are the number one cause of fires,” said Hicks.
They usually are caused by wood-burning appliances, natural gas appliances or even electrical appliances. Even though they are not necessarily dangerous appliances, they might be used properly, and when that happens, there is a risk of fire.
“We’re also talking about ventilation and carbon monoxide” says Hicks. “Carbon monoxide is a deadly killer. It is colourless, it’s odourless. It is produced when any solid fuel appliances are burning and when they don’t burn and support complete combustion of the materials, that’s when you get carbon monoxide.”
Residents should make sure that all their appliances are working properly and, even though there might be a bit of a waiting list right now, there are companies that can be contacted to check them.
“They will check your fire, your furnace, your hot water tank,” says Hicks. “Make sure everything is hooked up and working properly and they’ll give you a little report card afterwards that will let you know how good things are working. So that’s definitely a good idea to do.”
Another thing to remember with space heaters or wood-burning fireplaces is to keep a one-meter clearance around them.
“One, you want to keep all combustibles at least one meter away from any appliances like that, just do the risk of they could heat up, could dry out and they could catch fire,” said Hicks.
He added that people also want to make sure there is a one-meter kid-free zone around their space heater to minimize the risk of kids getting a little too close, maybe playing and not more realizing how close they are to the heating appliance.
“And we could have burns, we could have injuries,” said Hicks. “They could have knocked the heating appliance over, which could lead to another structure fire and make sure that anyone that is using any of these devices follow manufacturer’s recommendations.”
Another key if for people to remember is to use their appliances for what they are meant to be used.
“The stove and oven in your home is not designed to heat your home,” he points out. “That is a risk you do not need. Do not use your stove or oven in your kitchen, or if you live in a suite in the basement or upstairs to heat the place. That is not safe. They’re not designed to do that, so make sure you’re not doing that.”
Ventilation is also important. Hicks says people need to make sure their home is ventilated by checking their air intake and ventilation pipes that come out of their house for their furnace and water heater.
“Go have a look. With the build-up of some moisture and colder temperatures you can get ice that hang out of that. And there’s always a possibility that it will plug them. That’s not allowing now the ventilation to happen, which is going to be filling your home with carbon monoxide,.”
To that end, people should make sure they have a carbon monoxide detector in their home. Hicks says they can be purchased at any local hardware stores for a reasonable price.
“It’ll be on the box where to put them and just pay attention to them. Just like your smoke detector, you want to check them monthly, make sure the batteries are good, make sure they’re working make sure everyone in your home knows what to do if you have one of those detectors go off,.”
He points out that, unlike carbon monoxide, natural gas has an oder, and any strong indication of it warrants a call to 911.
“If you ever smell gas in your home, evacuate your home, yourself, your family, your pets and preferably call 911 by a cell phone or a neighbour’s house and get us there to check it out.”
LFES also wants to remind people to check their extension cords when plugging in their vehicles overnight.
“You want to make sure if it’s cracked or if it’s frayed,” says Hicks. If it is, “you’re now posing a risk is going to heat up and there’s always a risk of a fire.’
That also applies to the cord coming out of the vehicle, which sometimes get damaged by the hood and should be inspected to make sure that cord is not damaged.
“If it is, I recommend you get your vehicle into your local dealership to get that looked at to make sure it’s safe,” says Hicks.

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