BRUNSWICK

Winter has arrived in Maine and with the cold temperatures comes heating mishaps such as chimney fires, carbon monoxide poisoning complaints and fires caused by improper disposal of ashes.

“December, January, February are the big three months of the year during the winter when the most prevalent heating issues arise, and for various reasons,” Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant said Wednesday.

Half the home heating fires are reported during these months. According to the National Fire Protection Association, heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fire deaths. Fortunately, folks can prevent most heating fires with some simple safety measures.

Many Mainers have fireplaces and wood stoves, which should be burning dry wood, Brillant said.

When people run out of their wood supply, maybe after a nasty cold stretch, sometimes they burn green wood, which can lead to the buildup of creosote. The substance is highly combustible and can result in a chimney fire.

Chimneys should be cleaned and inspected at least once a year, Brillant said. Some chimneys may need to be cleaned more often, depending on the design or temperatures even.

One pitfall he’s seen is when people get a wood stove designed to heat a much larger space than they really need. A smaller stove is better, “because you have to make it work a little harder.” This means the stove burns hotter, cleaning the chimney.

“One of the big calls we see this time of year is … something too close to the wood stove,” Brillant said. “But really it’s people cleaning out their ashes and they put them either in a paper bag or plastic bucket and they either leave them in their house or on the porch.”

The coals will stay hot for days even in frigid temperatures.

It is also important, with devices like propane heaters vented through the wall, that the outdoor vent is clear of snow. It serves as the fresh air intake as well as venting byproduct from the heater.

Another danger firefighters see is people using portable kerosene heaters to combat the cold. These heaters are unvented and the fumes have to go somewhere.

“That’s carbon monoxide at its best,” Brillant said. And when they are filled with fuel that has been stored in the cold, it expands when it heats up and overflows.

“When we lose power, that’s when people want to stay warm so they start trying different things or they use a device they haven’t used in a long time, so things aren’t always prepared,” Brillant said.

Electric space heaters pose another danger. People get complacent and leave them on and unattended, which is when they usually run into trouble.

“If you’re not using it, unplug it,” he said.

Generators should set away from the home when in use. Keep windows shut to keep fumes from entering the house and don’t run a generator in the garage.

Brillant also warned people not to use their ovens or barbecue grills to heat their homes. Barbecue grills are very dangerous and create carbon monoxide fumes as well.

Carbon monoxide has no color or taste and one of the symptoms is confusion, making it more difficult for those afflicted to react to the effects.

As always, regardless of whether you have a wood stove or kerosene heater, “everyone should have working smoke detectors and at least one carbon monoxide detector in their house,” Brillant said.

Advice from the National Fire Protection Association

• Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from heating equipment

• Have a 3-foot kid-free zone around open fires, space heaters

• Never use your oven to heat your home

• Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters and central heating equipment according to manufacturer’s instructions and local codes

• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional

• Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room and before bed

• Use the fuel specified by the manufacturer in fuel burning space heaters

• If you smell gas in your gas heater, do not light the appliance, leave the home immediately and call your local fire department or gas company

• Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room

• Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container, which should be placed a safe distance away from the home

• Homes should have smoke alarms on every level, outside each sleeping area and inside each bedroom. Test them all at least once a month

• Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms to avoid CO poisoning