The weather lately has brought on some cooler temperatures which means some homeowners may have cranked on the furnace. However, homeowners need to be mindful that there are extra precautions to take to ensure their family’s safety and that is why Price City Fire Chief Fitzgerald Petersen took some time to speak about winter fire safety.

“I want to put emphasize sometimes when I talk to others about the furnace itself, it is a machine and they will fail. There’s every part on that furnace will eventually fail and the only way to recognize that is to be good at the furnace yourself or to call somebody in to inspect it for you. We as a fire department just don’t want you to be the one that everybody else learns from, happens every year in many communities, one family is going to end up being the one to remind everybody else because of a tragedy. I would really like to prevent that and have your broadcast be the catalyst and not an event,” stated Chief Petersen. An annual furnace checkup should be part of homeowners’ fall season routine and it can ensure that your furnace is in good working condition for the winter months.

The furnace filter is a crucial part of regular maintenance that homeowners tend to forget about. “The filter itself takes in particulate, that’s why we put them in there, we all know what they are doing but if you don’t change them the furnace that we’ve been talking about works harder. So all of these parts, I worry about as a Fire Chief, are now more vulnerable because of a $5.00 filter,” said Chief Petersen. Changing your furnace filter also improves the quality of indoor air and should be done every three months.

One last fire safety tip that Chief Petersen discussed was about candles, “Of course the Fire Chief wants to talk about candles but I’ve been on in my short little 30-year career, I’ve been on a lot of tragedies associated with candles. I’m not telling you not to buy candles, that’s none of my business, but I am asking you as the Fire Chief is please be careful with them – know where they are at, have absolute knowledge where they are and be cognitive whether they are lit or not and whether they are being attended. I would never leave a candle unattended.” Always extinguish candles before leaving the room or going to sleep.

Community members can stay informed about the Price City Fire Department by visiting their Facebook page.