Heating fires increase, how to keep your home safe - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Heating fires increase, how to keep your home safe

Posted: Updated:
RALEIGH COUNTY -

These cold temperatures mean thermostats are set higher and higher.

About 39 percent of the nation's house fires happened between December and March. To keep you safe from danger, firefighters urge you to keep heat registers clear and clean to your chimneys.

"Wood stoves, obviously you have the open flame factor, a lot of chimney's if they don't keep their chimney's cleaned out you have the build up if creosote and soot in the chimney and that can cause chimney fires which can in certain types of construction spread to the entire house if its not caught soon enough," said Princeton Firefighter Matthew Mould.

Firefighters also say don't leave burning candles or space heaters unattended.