Over the weekend a fire damaged a family's home in South Washington.

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The Amarillo Fire Department was called to a fire on Saturday morning, November 5th.  On arrival, the two-story home had smoke coming from the front door.  A resident was still inside the home, but as AFD was moving into the home,  the resident was exiting. The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.  The fire was coming from a floor furnace in the entryway of the home.   Luckily, no injuries were reported from the fire, but the home did have damages.  The Fire Marshal's office determined that the fire started from flammable items stored on the floor furnace.

Amarillo has hit its first freeze of the season which means that more and more homes, apartments, etc., will be using their heaters.  When using items to heat your homes please take into consideration,  certain things near heating sources can cause a fire.

If your home has floor furnaces, do not place anything on top of the furnace that could catch fire.  This includes combustible and flammable items, like wood, clothing, rugs, etc.  You also don't want to have any flammable liquids anywhere near a floor furnace.

Here are some tips on keeping your family safe and warm during the winter season.

  • Never use an oven or stove to heat your home.
  • Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment like a furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.  This includes curtains, bedding, blankets, etc.
  • Use space heaters with automatic shut-offs
  • Do not use extension cords with your space heater and do not place the cords under rugs.
  • Have extra blankets on hand in case the heater stops working.
  • Keep an up-to-date fire extinguisher in your home
  • Test your smoke detectors and change out the batteries.  The best rule of thumb, change the batteries each time the time changes during the year.
  • Have a fire plan for your family on what to do and where to go.

Too many people have lost their homes or lives have been lost due to trying to heat their homes in improper ways.  Please have a plan for yourself and your family ready in case of fire.

Stay safe while staying warm as the cold sets in this season.

 

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