- Cold weather has suddenly hit Lafayette and residents will now be using their portable space heaters more then ever.
- It's best to keep safety in mind during the weeks ahead to prevent fire hazards.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters cause about 1700 fires nationwide.
They also have lead to 80 deaths and 160 injuries per year as reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The first steps into avoiding a potential fire hazard when dealing with portable space heaters is making sure to be aware.
KATC spoke with Alton Trahan, Public Information Officer for the Lafayette Fire Department about how to still keep warm and comfortable while also be careful.
"We have to understand that you have to give them space. We recommend at least three feet of space from anything that's combustible. You want to plug the space heaters directly into the wall. It's always also recommended that you do not leave them on overnight. It's best to have extra blankets on instead of running them overnight because it's gonna continuously run so for safety precaution, just turned them off at night when you go to sleep and wake up early in the morning to warm the room up," says Trahan.
