Home Safety Tips for Winter in Kentucky

Though temperatures remain mild and the weather congenial in Louisville and the surrounding areas, the First Day of Winter will be upon us on December 22nd. With the falling temperatures comes an increased risk of certain home safety issues, potentially resulting in personal injury. One of the biggest home safety concerns during the winter is fires. Please consider these items below to increase your winter safety awareness:

• Heater safety: Have your furnace inspected and make sure it’s working properly and venting properly. Keep things that can burn away from your furnace. Do not leave space heaters on when you go to bed or leave the house. Choose a space heater that has an automatic shut off.
• Keep heat sources away from flammable materials: Fireplaces, space heaters and any other heating source that could start a fire should be kept 3 feet away from things that will burn (bedding, curtains, clothes in your closet, etc).
• Fireplace safety: Have your chimney inspected and cleaned when needed to avoid chimney and flue fires. Use the screen or doors in front of your fireplace to keep embers from spilling out. Make sure the fire is out before you go to bed or leave the house. Test your smoke detector batteries once a month.
• Indoor vs. outdoor appliances: Camp stoves, grills and other appliances intended for outdoor use should never be used inside your home. Many of them release harmful carbon monoxide or are otherwise unsafe for indoor use.
• Carbon monoxide safety: Install a CO detector if you don’t already have one (many modern smoke detectors also have CO detection, which will be labeled on the device). Just like your smoke alarm, test your CO detector and change its batteries routinely.