"Portable heating devices are a common cause of residential fires, said Fire Chief Jerome LaMoria. “It is important that residents follow some simple safety tips to keep themselves safe during this extreme cold weather."
Here are a list of these rules to help keep your home and family safe.
· Never use a range or an oven as a supplemental heating device. Not only is it a safety hazard, it can be a source of potentially toxic fumes.
· Frozen water pipes? Never try to thaw them with a blow torch or other open flame.
· If windows are used as emergency exits in your home, practice using them in the event fire should strike. Be sure that all windows open easily. Home escape ladders are recommended.
· The Portland Fire Department strongly discourages the use of unvented fuel fire heaters in occupied
