Recently in Hartford Connecticut a young man tried to clean his own furnace. He did not realize how dangerous it can be to do this if you are not qualified. His arm was stuck in his own furnace for three days and he attempted to cut his own arm off. His arm was amputated and he is doing fine now. http://www.verizon.net/newsroom/portals/newsroom.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=newsroom_portal_page_us_article&_article=2866178
If you need your furnace cleaned you need to make sure you have a qualified person for this job. It is very important that you make sure to keep up with your furnace maintenance. Your furnace should be cleaned EVERY year! Below are some tips about home safety heating from Jonathan Paul, Fire Inspector of the Lebanon New Hampshire Fire Department.
The high cost of heating fuels has caused many Americans to search for alternate home heating sources such as wood stoves, space heaters, and fireplaces to heat their home. It’s important to note that over 60,000 structure fires each year in the US are caused by home heating systems. With that in mind, there are some important tips you can follow to ensure your homes heating systems are used safely:
• Keep and maintain a 3 foot clearance between all heating appliances and anything that can burn.
• When buying a portable space heater, make sure it has a tip over safety feature that will automatically shut off the unit if it falls over, and look for a label or some form of listing that shows the heater has been recognized by a testing laboratory such as (UL).
• Space heaters should always be turned off when you leave a room and prior to going to bed.
• If you have a wood stove, or use a fire place, have the chimney cleaned every year prior to the cold weather months.
• If you have an oil burning or propane furnace, have the furnace serviced annually by a qualified person.
• Make sure your fireplace has a sturdy screen to prevent sparks from igniting floor materials. Before you go to sleep, make sure the fireplace fire is out. Never close your damper with hot ashes still in the fireplace.
• Don’t use excessive amounts of paper in fireplaces. It is possible to ignite creosote in the chimney by burning paper.
• If you use a wood stove as a primary heat source, it is recommended the stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15 minutes at a time to reduce creosote build-up.
• If you use a kerosene heater, always use clear K-1 grade kerosene and never re-fuel the heater indoors.
• Make sure your electric space heater has a thermostat control, and never use an extension cord to power the heater.
• Test your homes smoke and carbon monoxide detectors every month.
If you live in New England, it is inevitable that the winter months will be chilly. Prepare yourself and your home heating aids! Put money aside for maintenance, don't ignore it! You will have a safer winter:)
