Heating tips for the cold
Reporter: Liz Kotalik
TUCSON (KGUN-9 TV) - It's a pretty simple concept. All this snow means you're cold and you just want to stay warm.
But, before you turn on your heater, there are some basics Capt. Barrett Baker of the Tucson Fire Department says should remember.
"If you have your heater at home," Capt. Baker says, "keep flammable things away from it. You don't want to have something like gasoline next to you."
Keep a safe distance between your heater and things like clothes, drapes and papers.
Capt. Baker says if you can avoid putting a space heater on the carpet, do it.
"If you can use a newer one compared to something that was made in 1975, there's obviously a lot of safety types of things that are on the newer space heaters that those don't have."
And although it's nice to wake up to a room that's been kept warm by a space heater, avoid that too.
When you're not paying attention, it could get knocked over or even malfunction.
But what's the fire department's biggest cold-related call?
"We do get a lot of carbon monoxide types of alerts when the temperatures drop and people start using their heaters."
Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless and could potentially be deadly, so don't warm up your home with something that emits the gas like a barbecue or a grill, and make sure you have a carbon monoxide alarm that would detect any danger.
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