As the weather gets colder, the threat of house fires rises at an equal rate. With that in mind, Perry Fire Chief Chris Hinds says proper maintenance of heating equipment can go a long way to preventing fires.

If you have a central heating system, he says it’s a good idea to hire someone to look at it before you use it to make sure it’s in good, working order. It’s also important to make sure electric space heaters have good cords and wiring before plugging them in. For more traditional heating methods, like wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, Hinds says it’s very important to make sure the chimneys or flues are clean before using them. In addition to heater maintenance, Hinds emphasizes that using unconventional heating methods, such as leaving an oven open or stove top on, is extraordinarily dangerous.

“That oven is for baking, that stove is for cooking. It’s not intended as a heating unit. It creates safety hazards in so many ways you can’t even imagine, with the open flame on the stove, the oven door standing open and the heat coming out of that. Not to mention, the gas fumes that are put into the room through the open oven door. So it’s good to heat your home properly, and not do those kind of things. We’re in a modern time now, where heating our home shouldn’t be any kind of a problem, and we should have all the proper equipment there to do so. And the most important thing then is to keep it maintained and in good operating condition.”

To learn more about fire safety and prevention, listen to last Monday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.