Heating is the second leading cause of home fires.
Here are steps you can take to reduce fire hazards in your home.
From 2010-2012, an average of 45,200 home heating fires occurred in the United States each year and resulted in an annual average of approximately 155 deaths, 625 injuries and $351 million in property loss.- Heating was the second leading cause of home fires following cooking.
- Home heating fires peaked in the early evening hours between 5 and 9 p.m. with the highest peak between 6 and 8 p.m. This four-hour period accounted for 30 percent of all home heating fires.
- Home heating fires peaked in January (21 percent) and declined to the lowest point during the summer months from June to August.
- Confined fires, those fires confined to chimneys, flues or fuel burners, accounted for 84 percent of home heating fires.
- Twenty-nine percent of the non-confined home heating fires occurred because the heat source was too close to things that can burn.