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Fire & Rescue Issue Winter Safety Tips

Grand Forks Fire & Rescue are reminding you to keep safe this holiday season. For starters, you’ll want to ensure your furnace, chimney, and vents are Santa safe: Cleared and inspected.

Deputy Fire Chief Richard Piche says chimney fires can happen to everyone. “We had one last Saturday already a former fire fighter, so yeah it can happen to anybody, so keeping up on that, portable space heaters is another one, just keeping a minimum of 3 feet or a metre away from anything that can catch fire that’s really important.”

He adds that portable space heaters should be directly plugged into outlets as opposed to extension chords.

Piche says your smoke alarms need to be working. “We recommend having a smoke alarm in every bedroom, or at least a minimum outside every bedroom there should be one for every person in the house. There should be at least one in your basement, and the carbon monoxide alarms those ones you don’t need as many, so I’d say one outside a bedroom area or hallway.”

Your fireplace screen should be metal or heat tempered glass, and positioned appropriately. A covered metal container is an effective way to dispose of ashes, but should be kept 10 feet from any structures. It’s also important to ensure children keep at least 3 feet from fireplaces, stoves, and other space heaters. The wood for your fireplace should be kept dry, and seasoned.

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