Georgia’s Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John King said on Friday that with colder weather, he want to remind Georgia residents once again about using precautions and safety measures during the colder weather when people are heating their homes.

Far too many Georgians lose their property – and even their lives – because of improperly installed supplemental heating.  Here in Chattooga County, we have seen the devastation that can happen when wood heating stoves and kerosene heaters are used without precautions or without being properly installed.

Commissioner King offers the following safety tips:

• Have your fireplace or wood stove chimney and chimney connectors inspected and cleaned at the start of the heating season.
• Do not plug heating equipment into extension cords. This can lead to overheating of the cord, damage to the appliance, and increased risk of fire or electric shock.
• Move anything that can burn (i.e., furniture, bedding, clothing) at least three feet from your heater, fireplace, or wood stove. 54% of home heating fire deaths were caused by having heating equipment too close to things that can burn.
• Keep your children and pets safely away from your portable or space heater.
• Turn off your portable or space heater before leaving the room.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.