killing at least two people<\/a>.<\/p>\nTo lower any risks, SAFD recommends people follow these steps:<\/p>\n
Plug space heaters directly into the wall. Don\u2019t use a surge protector or power strip. Space heaters draw a lot of power, and overloaded strips can overheat and catch fire.<\/p>\n
Check the cord before turning it on and inspect the cord from end to end. Ensure there are no frays, no tears and no separation from the heater itself.<\/p>\n
Use a hard, flat surface. Place the heater on the floor, not on top of furniture, rugs, blankets or anything uneven.<\/p>\n
Clear the space around it and keep the area 3 to 6 feet around the heater free of anything that can burn.<\/p>\n
Unplug it when you leave the room. Don\u2019t just switch it off \u2014 actually unplug it.<\/p>\n
Never leave space heaters on while sleeping. The deadliest space heater fires happen overnight when people are asleep and can\u2019t react in time.<\/p>\n
What to look for when buying a space heater<\/p>\n
For anyone shopping for a new space heater, SAFD said it\u2019s important to check the label first.<\/p>\n
Look for certification marks like UL (Underwriters Laboratories) or Intertek on the box or on the heater itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just what you want to look for,\u201d Arrington said. \u201cThat just means that this manufacturer has gone through the steps to ensure that this one is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAFD said people can also flip the heater over and check for built-in safety features, like a tip-over switch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis, when it sits down, this is the safety feature,\u201d Arrington explained, pointing to a trigger on the bottom of a heater. \u201cSo if it gets knocked over, it\u2019s going to shut it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAFD said following these basic steps can help families stay warm while staying safe this winter.<\/p>\n
Read also:<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 As temperatures drop, many people are turning to space heaters to stay warm. The San…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[630,633,3961,82,84,83,37597],"class_list":{"0":"post-76395","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-fire","9":"tag-safd","10":"tag-safety","11":"tag-san-antonio","12":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","13":"tag-san-antonio-news","14":"tag-space-heaters"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}