Fire Safety Tip: Plug Heaters Directly Into Walls, Not Into Extension Cords

Forecasted winter weather on Wednesday brings reminders of alternative heating source safety.

Livingston Fire Chief Rocky Dial said a key factor to using things like space heaters, is to make sure they plug directly into a wall and not an extension cord or power cord.

“The danger there is some of the cords are not big enough to handle the watts and the amps that the heaters are pulling and they tend to get hot,” Dial said. “And if a material or paper or something is laying on top they can catch fire.”

Dial said in addition to using wall sockets for heaters, the placement of the heater is also important. He said you should make sure the heater is placed well away from the walls or other combustible materials. He said to use common sense: if it is too hot for you to stand directly in front of, it is likely to hot for other materials that are likely to catch fire.