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Show Each year in the United States fire is responsible for about 5,000 deaths in residences. resi-dences. Much is being done to reduce these numbers, from improvement in building build-ing materials and household products, to better methods of detecting fires and warning warn-ing endangered occupants. There are some precautions you can take to help make sure that your home and family are not included in these statistics. One major precaution is installation of a smoke detector near your sleeping rooms, or one smoke detector on each level of your home. Also, if you are thinking think-ing of buying a room heater, or are now using one such as an electric, gas or kerosene kero-sene heater, be sure you are familiar with its operation. These heaters have similarities similar-ities as far as their heating functions, but also have their unique hazards. For example, ex-ample, gas and kerosene heaters may cause carbon monoxide poisoning if they're improperly vented, maintained or used in an inadequately in-adequately ventilated room. They also release irritants such as nitrogen dioxide which may induce breathing problems in some, individuals. individ-uals. Draperies or other combustible com-bustible materials can be ignited ig-nited if room heaters are placed too close to them, as can clothing if someone stands too close to the heater. Electric room heaters pose their own hazards. If you have one, here are some safe- Keep the heater away from water. Avoid touching heater with wet or damp hands. ty tips you might warm to: 1. When you first get an electric elec-tric heater, read the label and follow the instructions for its operation and maintenance. 2. Some free-standing electric elec-tric heaters have a tip-over switch to shut the unit off if knocked over. This helps prevent pre-vent ignition if the heater falls against fabric or other flammable materials. 3. There should be a guard ' around the coil of your heater. heat-er. A wire grille or other protection pro-tection is essential to keep fingers or fabrics from touching touch-ing the hot element. 4. If you must use an extension exten-sion cord, make sure it's marked with a wattage rating rat-ing at least as high as that on the label of the heater itself. Replace any cord if pinched, frayed or worn. Do not run a cord under rugs or carpeting. 5. Keep the heater a safe distance dis-tance from water. Avoid touch- ing the heater while your hands are wet or damp. 6. Keep paper, clothing, draperies dra-peries and furniture away from the heater. Refer to the You can help keep your family safer from fire if you make sure any electric heaters , you have, have a guard around the coil. manufacturer's instructions I for proper clearances from I combustible material. 1 7. Keep the heater in safe working condition. Replace missing guards and controls at once. Never operate a defective de-fective heater. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has selected se-lected 1985 as the year to focus particular attention on electric heater safety, name- f ly to study consumer use patterns, pat-terns, conduct engineering analyses and testing, and continue to inform the public 1 about the causes and occur- I rences of fire hazards. MORE INFORMATION j For information about other I room heaters such as coal fl and wood burning stoves, kerosene, or gas heaters, or to report a product hazard or product-related injury, please write to the U.S. Con- sumer Product Safety Com- mission, Washington, D.C. 20207, or call the toll free hotline 800-638-CPSC. |