Staff Report Especially in winter, seeing a burning home on a TV newscast and hearing a number of children have died is to be expected. All it would take is more people understanding home appliances and electrical systems. After a recent deadly fire in New Jersey one of the firefighters said the most likely cause was an electric heater. He went so far as to say no one should use those. That may not be as dramatic as it sounds.
Portable heaters pose two threats.
Of course, electric heaters can cause fires by igniting bedding material or other items that touch the heating elements. Preventing those fires is just a matter of making sure nothing is near the heater, and nothing can fall onto or be blown into it. But, portable heaters and many other products can cause fires another way. Products that use large amounts of electric power may be perfectly safe alone. But, home electrical wiring usually runs to a number of outlets on each circuit.