antiquity
01-28-2003, 11:23 AM
Deep freeze brings heater deaths as well as hypothermia
By BILL BERGSTROM
The Associated Press
1/28/03 4:43 AM
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- With freezing temperatures gripping much of the nation, officials are issuing renewed warnings about the dangers of fires started by overtaxed, misused heaters.
In Philadelphia, a 52-year-old man was killed and his paraplegic wife was left with severe burns over the weekend when a kerosene heater apparently started a fire that burst their living room into flames. A woman in North Carolina also died in a fire caused by a space heater.
Authorities pointed to the Philadelphia fire as an example of how tragedy can strike when people are simply trying to stay warm.
They urged people to check or install smoke alarms "while the tragedy is still fresh in the minds of the neighbors," executive fire chief William Brightcliffe said Monday.
"In the cold weather, more people stay at home and use their heating systems and cooking facilities," Brightcliffe said.
That's when all types of space heaters -- electric and kerosene heaters, wood stoves, fireplace inserts and gas heaters -- pose the greatest danger, according to the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass.
The association counted 50,000 fires blamed on home heating equipment last year, and three of every four deaths in heating-related fires involved space heaters, spokeswoman Margie Coloian said.
The most common mistake is failing to allow 3 feet of clear space between heaters and flammable items -- such as bed covers or drapes -- and leaving them on when people leave the room or go to sleep, Coloian said.
"People take for granted that they are not going to tip over or a pet isn't going to walk by and tip them over," she said.
Also, Coloian said space heaters should never be fueled indoors, and added that several states, including Massachusetts, have banned kerosene space heaters entirely.
The cold snap has claimed more than a dozen lives across the country, including four in Philadelphia, where temperatures have been at or below freezing since Jan. 14.
Lyndia Downey, president of the Pine Street Inn shelter that serves about 1,200 of Boston's homeless people a day, said the shelter has been filled to capacity. Forecasts called for another night of below-zero temperatures in Boston on Tuesday.
"The most we can offer people after about 4 in the afternoon, when all the beds are claimed, is a blanket on the floor -- and some people are willing to take their chances outside," Downey said.
------
On the Net:
National Fire Protection Association: http://www.nfpa.org
By BILL BERGSTROM
The Associated Press
1/28/03 4:43 AM
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- With freezing temperatures gripping much of the nation, officials are issuing renewed warnings about the dangers of fires started by overtaxed, misused heaters.
In Philadelphia, a 52-year-old man was killed and his paraplegic wife was left with severe burns over the weekend when a kerosene heater apparently started a fire that burst their living room into flames. A woman in North Carolina also died in a fire caused by a space heater.
Authorities pointed to the Philadelphia fire as an example of how tragedy can strike when people are simply trying to stay warm.
They urged people to check or install smoke alarms "while the tragedy is still fresh in the minds of the neighbors," executive fire chief William Brightcliffe said Monday.
"In the cold weather, more people stay at home and use their heating systems and cooking facilities," Brightcliffe said.
That's when all types of space heaters -- electric and kerosene heaters, wood stoves, fireplace inserts and gas heaters -- pose the greatest danger, according to the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass.
The association counted 50,000 fires blamed on home heating equipment last year, and three of every four deaths in heating-related fires involved space heaters, spokeswoman Margie Coloian said.
The most common mistake is failing to allow 3 feet of clear space between heaters and flammable items -- such as bed covers or drapes -- and leaving them on when people leave the room or go to sleep, Coloian said.
"People take for granted that they are not going to tip over or a pet isn't going to walk by and tip them over," she said.
Also, Coloian said space heaters should never be fueled indoors, and added that several states, including Massachusetts, have banned kerosene space heaters entirely.
The cold snap has claimed more than a dozen lives across the country, including four in Philadelphia, where temperatures have been at or below freezing since Jan. 14.
Lyndia Downey, president of the Pine Street Inn shelter that serves about 1,200 of Boston's homeless people a day, said the shelter has been filled to capacity. Forecasts called for another night of below-zero temperatures in Boston on Tuesday.
"The most we can offer people after about 4 in the afternoon, when all the beds are claimed, is a blanket on the floor -- and some people are willing to take their chances outside," Downey said.
------
On the Net:
National Fire Protection Association: http://www.nfpa.org