Fall Heating Reminders

The Madison Fire Department and Madison Gas and Electric urge homeowners to spend a little time getting ready for the upcoming heating season. Here are a few tips to help prevent a failure of your heating equipment, save energy, and prevent injuries and fires. • Have furnaces, water heaters, chimneys and venting systems inspected each year by a qualified contractor. • Check the furnace filter once a month during the heating season. Replace or clean any dirty filters. • Furnaces using a programmable thermostat should have a spare battery available to ensure continued operation when the installed battery fails. • Always follow the manufacturer's operating and safety instructions for any heating equipment in your home. • Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment including furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves or portable space heaters. • Have a three-foot "kid-free zone" around open fires and space heaters. • Remember to turn off portable heaters when leaving the room or going to bed. • Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters. • Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. • Fireplace ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home. • Never use your oven to heat your home. • Test smoke alarms monthly. • Install and maintain carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on each level of the home to avoid the risk of CO poisoning. • If you smell gas, leave the home immediately and call the fire department. Additional information and safety tips can be found at www.MadisonFire.org www.mge.com/home/safety/ and www.NFPA.org