Stay safe while using a space heater this winter

Space heaters account for a third of winter home fires

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — With the cold weather coming, many of us are using space heaters to try to stay warm, but be careful when using one.

When you decide to use one, make sure you use it as the manufacturer intended. Also, try to keep anything combustible at least 3 feet away, and keep children and pets out of that immediate area as well.

Fire fighters even advise against sleeping while a space heater is on.

“Ideally, if you’re going to be sleeping for the evening you want to turn them off. Mainly for that reason, if you’re asleep and it did start a fire it’s that much more challenging I guess, while you’re sleeping to wake up from it,” said la Crosse Fire Department Lieutenant Steven Cash.

Space heaters account for about a third of winter house fires, and cause the most fire-based fatalities each winter.