By JOSEPH KELLARD
Space heaters were to blame for eight fires in Nassau County this season alone, with one ending in a fatality, and the frequency of such blazes is not subsiding, said McManus, the division supervisor at the county¹s fire marshal¹s office.
³It¹s hard to say if it¹s increasing, but it¹s certainly not decreasing,² McManus said of the number of space heater-related fires in Nassau. ³People are just not getting the message to use these heaters with more care.²
In cases where these portable electrical devices have ignited fires, they were usually placed too close to combustible materials, or they were supplied with power through an extension cord, he said. ³We had an incident the other night in Hicksville in which the portable heater was plugged into an extension cord that was plugged into a power strip,² McManus said. ³That power strip was also supplying energy for a computer, radio, television and lamps. That¹s just way too much.²
Last November, a 70-year-old Westbury man was found dead in his bedroom after he used an extension cord to power his portable heater, which went up in flames. The man¹s wife was found unconscious and was in critical condition but has since recovered, and their adult daughter, who was visiting them, fortunately escaped through a window as the fire spread.
Last summer, a Hicksville man who had poor circulation and constantly complained about being cold died in a fire at his home after he attached a long extension cord to his portable heater. ³These heaters are just not designed to do that, and that¹s the problem,² McManus said.
In the case of the Westbury man, fire investigators found a brand new smoke detector in a box on his dresser. ³It just kills me when I see something like that,² McManus said, adding that Nassau County has not experienced a fatal fire in a home equipped with working smoke detectors.
In addition to keeping heaters away from young children and pets, McManus advised that they should never be left unattended or left on overnight. In addition, they should be kept away from anything that can catch fire, from wood furniture to bed linens. ³These fires often happen in bedrooms in which people sleep with them on overnight and put them too close to their beds,² McManus said.
He added that space heater-related fires occur in households of varying incomes, but more frequently in lower-income homes, where residents may use them as primary rather than secondary sources of heat. ³They are meant to supply supplemental heat in a particular area of a house, not as the primary heat,² McManus said. ³That¹s when this becomes a particular problem.²
McManus said that illegal apartments are particularly vulnerable, because they may be overcrowded with occupants sleeping in areas not designed for it, like basements that have not been converted into living areas, and they often use long extension cords to set up heaters there.
In years past, residents owned kerosene space heaters, but their use has been banned. ³They had the hazard of having an open flame, and they could tip over and spill fuel, or people would try to refill them while they were still running,² McManus explained. ³And beside the fire hazard, they emitted carbon monoxide, so there were all sorts of problems with those heaters.²
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
