Greetings everyone……It’s your old buddy, Remington The Fire Dog, here with this months installment of "Remington’s  Fire Safety Tips”. I don’t know what the weather’s like where you are, but "BOY”, it’s sure cold here and nobody likes laying around in front of a warm Fire Place or next to a Portable Heat Source in the living room better than me….well,..maybe my Mom, which brings us to this months topic, "Winter Heat Sources In The Home”.

I would suspect that most of us have what would be considered conventional Natural Gas or Electric central heating units in our homes, these being statistically the safest means of keeping "Ol Man Winter” at bay just outside our doors. But then there’s also that Rustic Wood Stove or that Romantic Fire Place, that in many cases provide essential warmth in many homes this time of year. These are all an acceptable and reasonably safe means of home heating IF AND AS LONG AS they are well maintained. Maintenance should be done annually on these units prior to the start of use for the season, and unless you’re a real "Do It Your Selfer”, they should most likely be serviced by a "Professional”. In the case of wood stoves and fireplaces, care should especially be given to the cleaning of flues prior to each years use. So far, so good,…right??????

OK…..Now let’s look at some other "not so conventional” means of home heating. We will group these into what we’ll refer to as "Portable Space Heaters” (My Mom just loves these little foot warmers). In this day and age, with Natural Gas and Electricity prices being what they are, more and more people are looking for alternative methods for heating small rooms and spaces in the home, and it seems that there has become a plethora of these small, portable heating units being put to use. We have your basic "Electric Forced Air Unit” that plugs in and can be set in a variety of locations within a room. There is the "Electric Baseboard Unit” that sets against the wall and radiates heat into a room. We also have the "Oil Filled Radiator Unit” that is heated electrically and can be placed out into the room where wanted, and I am sure, several other varieties of HOME units that I have completely forgotten to mention. In addition to these, there are also "Fuel Fired Portable Space Heaters” available for SHOP AND CONSTRUCTION USE ONLY!!!  These would include but not be limited to propane, kerosene, or diesel fuels. (NEVER USE FUEL FIRED SPACE HEATERS IN YOUR HOME)

Now for some history on these "Hot” little heaters. Did you know that there are an estimated 3,800 portable heater fires every year in the US and that they account for 25% of all fatal residential building heating fires? These fires result in an average of approximately 115 deaths, 250 injuries, and $98 million in property loss annually. Fifty percent (50%) of these fires are the simple result of carelessly placing heaters too close to combustible materials such as blankets, sheets, comforters, clothing piles, and upholstered chairs and sofas. Other factors contributing to portable heater fires are electrical failures and unit malfunctions among other things,… and can be as simple as leaving a portable heater unattended. Who knows….even I might inadvertently leave my favorite stuffed toy right in front of the heater while nobody’s looking or paying attention. BAD DOG!!!!!!!!!!!

So…..now that we have some facts….what can we do to make sure we don’t contribute negatively to any of the above statistics? Why don’t we make a list of Remington’s:

                    " PORTABLE SPACE HEATER NO NO’S”

1. Never place heaters close to anything combustible.

2. Never use extension cords for power sources to heaters. Always plug 

          directly into a wall outlet.

3. Never use heaters that are not listed with an approved testing

          laboratory.

4. Never leave heaters unattended.

5. Never, Never, Never use Fuel Fired Portable Heaters in the home.

In conclusion, almost all Portable Heater fires are preventable. Always be extremely careful and vigilant if using portable heaters around your home and be aware of children and pets moving through rooms that have working heaters. PLEASE…..make sure you have working Smoke Detectors in your home and test them monthly. "SMOKE DETECTORS SAVE LIVES”.

As a "Post Script” to this month’s blog, I would like to address one of my readers concerns(I love having readers). This is something we might all be guilty of in our own homes without giving it a second thought until disaster strikes. I know it went unnoticed in our house until it was brought to my attention. And, it can be alleviated with some simple maintenance from time to time.

The villain in this story is lint. Even in the cleanest of homes, lint can accumulate in some hard to reach "out of sight, out of mind” areas, such as under a stove, dishwasher, or frig. This is especially true in kitchens with hardwood or tile floors. Another place it accumulates in even greater amounts is under washers and dryers, and especially in dryer vent hoses. 

So…"What’s so bad about a little lint?” you might ask. Simply put, it is VERY COMBUSTIBLE and under the right conditions, with today’s heating elements or hot running electric motors, can ignite unnoticed, resulting in major property damage and even death. WOW!!!….What’s a dog to do?

Well….that’s kinda the easy part. Remember that "MAINTENANCE”  word? From time to time, depending on your own personal circumstances, you should pull the fronts off appliances or move them from the wall and give them a thorough cleaning underneath and around their motors if they have one. A vacuum with a good flat wand will do wonders. And, as for that ornery dryer vent hose, take it loose from the dryer and not only clean out the hose but clean out the inside of the dryer where the hose attaches as well. Something as simple as this could prevent a major catastrophe in your home. Food for thought. Did I just say food? I hope Dad remembered to pick up my dinner for tonight.  

I’m "Remington The Fire Dog” and I’m out of here.