We all know that space heaters can be very dangerous in the home especially if you have children or pets.
This winter, the local health department in my city decided to put on a safety course for young children in regards to electric space heaters. They had public safety officials come out to the local libraries to teach a short class on space heater safety. The course was designed for small children. The theme was “spaceship” heaters where they used spaceships as the main character. They warned the children not to touch the space heaters if they were red or if they were blowing warm air, because they were “preparing to blast off into space”. I thought it was a very creative way to warn children of the dangers of these common household appliances. The course also touched on fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire. It helped a lot of parents to remember to tell their children where the fire exits were located throughout the house. Each year, we hear of a situation where a home was destroyed in a fire due to misuse of an electric space heater. Pets are also a cause of these fires in regards to fires started by space heaters. There are heaters that have sensors that will allow them to shut off if it senses a pet or child getting too close. The health department might have saved a home from a fire or even a life by putting on this course.