By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
While the Great Bend Fire Department’s focus this week is educating children during Fire Prevention Week, there are safety tips the adults should adhere too. Fire crews are visiting elementary schools to demonstrate how to put out fires, but Great Bend Fire Department Engineer Garrett Tindall said there are preventative steps every resident should know.
As the cooler temperatures settle in, Tindall mentioned to make sure your furnace is inspected by a technician prior to turning on your heater.
"That furnace builds up a lot of dust and lent from the return," said Tindall. "We end up having to get called out to your house because it's filled with smoke. Hopefully, it just stays in the vents but I've seen it where it doesn't. Furnace fires are very dangerous. The best way to prevent those is by having them inspected, serviced and cleaned."
Tindall added to use space heaters wisely by not draping anything over the top of the units, keep the space heaters away from curtains and plug them directly into the wall rather than using extension cords.
Tindall noted most small propane heaters are not meant for indoor use.
"If it's piped into your house, it's running on natural gas and it's rated for indoor use...that's okay as long as it's properly installed," said Tindall. "If you're going to the store and buying a stand-alone unit that runs on propane, those are usually not meant to be used inside an enclosed space without ventilation. They tend to have an open flame of some form which is also more dangerous."
Along with smoke detectors, Tindall recommended placing carbon monoxide detectors near the opening to an attached garage, furnace or water heater.