Winter is underway here in the Northeast. It’s not unheard of for people to use portable heaters to provide additional heat to a space, or to use them to keep the heating bills down. Here are some tips for home heating safety for those using portable heaters.

• Keep portable heaters at least three feet away from anything flammable.
• Don’t leave children and pets unsupervised when a portable heater is being used.
• Don’t leave portable heaters on if you’re not going to be awake and in the room.
• Don’t warm or dry anything on a portable heater.
• Don’t use portable heaters in the bathroom.
• Don’t place portable heaters on top of anything, particularly furniture.
• Don’t use an extension cord to plug your heater in.

Lastly, there are a few things that every home should have in the way of safety equipment including a fire extinguisher, the appropriate amount of smoke alarms for your home and a carbon monoxide alarm.