Fire Marshal Letter

Greetings to all residents from the Fire Marshal’s Office, I hope that your holidays have been
good. Since this is the cold weather season it is an excellent time to discuss space heaters and
their use and safety precautions. Almost every week throughout the winter months I receive
a residential death notice from the U. S. Fire Administration, we want everyone to respect the
hazard of the appliance and use caution and common sense when using heaters. The general
rules to these devices are; allow a 3 foot clearance between the heater and anything that
burns, always plug the heaters directly into an outlet to avoid overheating of cords, use the
heater only as long as required, shut off the heater whenever it is not in use, place the heater
on a level surface, and always shut the heater off when no one is home to watch it.

When purchasing a space heater, look for the types that have ceramic elements or the oil
filled types. There are too many vendors to list the approved manufacturers, so look for the
ones that have UL listing, 1,500 watts or under, a self limiting element temperature setting,
automatic tip over protection, a built in timer that does not exceed an 8 hour time limit, a
programmable thermostat that is built in, and a thermal limiter to protect against overheating.

No open element or metallic element heaters are allowed (anything that glows red when on).
Also no fuel fired heaters are allowed (kerosene, propane, etc.)

Many have commented that this is an extreme amount of rules just to have a space heater.
This is true but when you see the amount of deaths caused every year by them, I am amazed
that the State allows them on their property at all. So if we want to keep using them on
Government property we need to do so safely.

Please be careful this time of year to avoid slips and falls on the ice as well, this is one of
the leading causes of death and injury in America. If you have any questions about heaters or
anything else fire related, just call the USU Fire Marshal’s office and we will be glad to answer
your questions.

Thanks,

Shane Maughan, Deputy Fire Marshal