Keeping warm this winter
increases household hazards
 |
| Overloading power strips in order to heat homes can cause fires. (ADAM CANCRYN/The Rockbridge Report) |
Forecasters in winter often advise residents to crank up the heat and stay inside to avoid the hazards of inclement weather. But for people living in low-income housing, holing up indoors can often be just as hazardous as braving the cold.
“[The homes] tend to be older…and they tend to be in fairly rough shape,” said Dan Walz, executive director of the Rockbridge Area Habitat for Humanity. “The insulation is very poor; often the heating system is inadequate or very inefficient.”
Such conditions make for a perilous winter. To stay warm, residents turn to alternative heating sources such as space heaters, kerosene heaters and wood stoves. But doing so often puts people at greater risk. Walz warned that any heating equipment malfunction can easily trigger a house fire.
“You get closer and closer to really unsafe and unhealthy conditions,” he said.
Walz has met his fair share of families facing hazardous living conditions each winter. He helps residents escape their cold, lightly insulated and sometimes dilapidated houses through Habitat’s program of building new and affordable homes.
Low-income families can also look to the county’s Energy Assistance Program for help with heating bills. But many still households struggle through the winter months.
A 2006 report released by the National Fire Protection Association listed heating equipment as the leading source of residential fires in the winter months. Alternative heat sources, such as fixed and portable space heaters, caused 30 percent of residential fires and 73 percent of heating fire deaths for that year.
Steve Paulk, Lexington’s fire marshal, said much of the danger stems from the misuse of heating equipment. Kerosene, in particular, is an especially dangerous fuel because of its high carbon monoxide output and combustibility.
“You’re bringing a fuel source, which is flammable liquid, into the house,” said Paulk.
And once inside, kerosene heaters are often mishandled.
“People fill them up while they’re running, or put them on flammable floors,” said Paulk.
One mistake could ignite the entire house, he said.
There is a similar danger with space heaters. The equipment requi
res more power than some extension cords and wall sockets can handle, a fact that Paulk said could result in an electricity overload. The heat generated from the electricity might then ignite surrounding flammable materials.
Paulk looks for these hazards during his fire inspections. He is responsible for evaluating the safety of Lexington’s rental properties and ensuring that they meet city regulations.
But for low-income families, Walz said, the more affordable heat options often outweigh the possible dangers.
“It’s part of living in substandard housing,” he said.
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Lisa Tracy
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd