The economy’s slump has people worried about the heating bills this winter, and a Red Cross survey released yesterday shows that this might result in an increase in home fires. When people try to be frugal with their furnaces, they often resort to other, more dangerous methods of heating their homes, like cozying up next to space heaters or even turning up their ovens and stoves. From the release:
The majority (79%) of Americans are concerned about the rising cost of heating their homes, and many will use an alternative heating source to reduce their bills this winter.
Every year, our Greater Chicago chapter goes out to hundreds and hundreds of home fires. It’s our primary, most common disaster response (though a lot of people don’t even know that the Red Cross helps victims of fires!).
In an effort to educate and empower people to heat their homes safely this winter, we’re going to be visiting homes in Joliet tomorrow—and in other neighborhoods for the rest of the month. Our Team Firestopper will show people where hazards might be lurking in their own homes, and we’ll give them a lesson on draft-proofing their homes.
Want to join the Team? Sign up today! We’ll be doing events until early November.
Interested in learning more about this issue? Read our press release.
What do you think? Are you going to wear a sweater, Jimmy-Carter style? How do you keep your home both cozy and fire-safe?
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1 comment:
Great article...
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