Missouri Winter Fire Safety Home Heating Tips: How To Stay Warm Without Increasing Fire Risk

Winter in Missouri brings a wide range of challenges, including staying warm. While there are several home heating options on the market, they can quickly become a fire hazard and greatly increase the risk of residential fires if used improperly. As countless households turn to secondary sources of heat like space heaters, fireplaces, furnaces, and electric blankets, their risk of a fire is significantly higher than households that do not. 

At Eureka Fire Protection District, we know firsthand how quickly a small winter heating issue, like plugging a space heater into a power cord, can turn into a dire fire emergency. Good news—most winter fires are preventable. By implementing a few simple home heating tips and winter safety habits, you can not only keep your home cozy and warm but also safe throughout winter.

How To Stay Warm Safely in Winter

Staying warm is the top priority of Eureka residents during cold Missouri winters, but making informed decisions on how to do so safely can mean the difference between safely regulating the heat of your home and needing to evacuate due to an avoidable electrical fire. At this time of year, the Eureka Fire Protection District receives more calls for fire emergencies than at any other time of year.

Since many of these incidents were preventable, we’d like to teach Eureka residents and the surrounding communities how to safely heat their homes and reduce their risk of fire during these cold winter months.

Safe Home Heating Tips for Eureka Residents

• Maintain your fireplaces and chimneys—if your household has a chimney or fireplace, we recommend ensuring that it gets proper and regular maintenance to prevent blockages and significantly reduce your risk of a chimney fire. Also, if your household has lit the fireplace, you must never leave the fire unattended, because sparks can fly out of the grate and catch the surrounding furniture and carpet on fire. 

• Be mindful of electric blankets and heating pads—these electrical heating sources are definitely convenient during the winter, but they can also pose a significant fire hazard if they are used incorrectly. We recommend that if you use these items that you avoid using them underneath heavy blankets or comforters and that you always check that the cords aren’t frayed or damaged before you use them. 

• Use appliances appropriately—we strongly advise against using household appliances as a source of heat, since if not correctly extinguished they can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or an accidental ignition of a residential fire.

• Have a fire escape plan ready—in the event that there is a fire, electrical or otherwise, it is crucial for the safety of everyone in your household that there is a fire escape plan in place. Establishing escape routes throughout the house can help to prevent individuals from getting trapped, and having a set rendezvous point outside of your household can offer a peace of mind that cannot be bought.

• Install and maintain smoke detectors—having smoke detectors on every level of your household and in every room can significantly reduce the risk of a surprise fire and also increase the chances of you and everyone else in your household evacuating before the situation becomes dire.

How To Prevent Heating Fires At Home?

You can easily avoid heating fires by taking a few precautions, such as:

• Purchasing heating equipment that is equipped with safety measures like tip-over shut off or overheat shutdown.

• Checking that all cords are not frayed or damaged before plugging it in.

• Plugging in space heaters to the wall rather than power cords or surge protectors

Take Advantage Of The Eureka Fire Protection District’s Fire Safety Checklist for Winter

Keeping yourselves and your household safe and warm this winter season is our priority. We invite Eureka residents and the surrounding communities to take full advantage of the tips outlined in this blog and use them as a kind of winter heating safety checklist. For more information on how you can safely and properly keep your home warm and toasty this winter season without increasing your risk of a fire, please contact the Eureka Fire Protection District to learn more.