LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – With temperatures flirting with the freezing mark Monday night, a lot of Midstate have been turning on the heat.
Blue Rock Fire Commissioner Duane Hagelgans said his fire department sees fires involving dirty furnaces every year.
“Sometimes they malfunction, and we’ve had houses that have burned down,” he said.
Dave Topper, a handyman for EM Herr Farm and Home Center, said there is something everyone can do to prevent those types of fires.
“One of the first things you can do when you’re doing it yourself on a furnace situation is change your filters,” he said.
Topper explained that chimneys can also be swept out just by using a brush.
“Cleaning of it takes any combustible materials you’re are not expecting to be there,” he said. “Believe it or not, cobwebs will pick up a lot of stuff that could be stuck in your fire box, it could be in your chimney.”
He said testing the air flow is something that’s also important.
Topper explained a simple test that can help.
“You can just take a paper and light it and stick it in [the fire box], and you would see it draw the smoke right out the back of it, up the chimney,” he said.
Topper said if you use baseboard heating, it’s important to dust them off before they are used.Get breaking news, weather and traffic on the go. Download the ABC27 News App and the ABC27 Weather App for your phone and tablet.