As temperatures drop and the holidays approach, the risk of fire tends to increase in Milwaukee homes.
Heaters, fireplaces and cooking play a significant role in keeping us warm and cozy during the fall and winter season, but they can also create fire hazards.
Carlos Velazquez-Sanchez, fire education director for the Milwaukee Fire Department, and Jeremy McGovern, a spokesperson for the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, helped us create a comprehensive guide to help Milwaukee residents prevent fires in their homes and stay safe this winter.
Check your smoke detectors once a month to be sure they are working.
If you do not have a working smoke detector, you can request one be installed by calling the Milwaukee Fire Department Smoke Detector Hotline at 414-286-8980.
(You can learn more about receiving a free smoke detector here.)
Have your fuel-burning home equipment, including fireplaces, furnaces, wood and coal stoves, space and portable heaters, inspected by a professional annually.
Create a fire escape plan with your family, including a meeting place. And practice your escape plan often.
Once you have everything laid out, then you want to choose two ways out of every room in the house, Velazquez-Sanchez said. After you choose the two ways, then you want to have a meeting place, whether it’s a tree or a light pole or a neighbor’s house.
Never leave food being cooked unattended
The leading cause of residential fires in the United States is kitchen fires, Velazquez-Sanchez said.
This is especially the case on Thanksgiving Day, the peak day of the year for home cooking fires across the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association.
“It baffles me because it (cooking) should be the least cause of fires,” Velazquez-Sanchez said. “The problem is we are so complacent and we are so careless.”
Velazquez-Sanchez said there is an increase in fires in winter because of the need for heat.
Avoid overloading outlets
“In Wisconsin, specifically Milwaukee, our houses are old,” Velazquez-Sanchez said. “Back then, when they built the houses, they didn’t have the need for 30 outlets in every room. There was one outlet if you were lucky, but these days we live on electricity.”
A lot of people use a multiplug, Velazquez-Sanchez said, and then they add extensions to the multiplug, which they often cover with a rug because it looks ugly. The house wires are often old, he said, so when people overload the outlet, it can cause electrical fires.
“Then you are creating a tension under the rug, in addition to overloading the outlets in a house with old wood,” he said.
When it comes to using multiplugs, choose one with a thicker gauge, Velazquez-Sanchez said, and unplug appliances when done.
Be smart with portable heaters
Portable heaters are great, Velazquez-Sanchez said. They are an efficient way to heat parts of the house and can help keep furnace and gas costs down, he said.
“The problem is, people want to plug them into extension cords,” Velazquez-Sanchez said. “You do not want to plug a portable heater into an extension cord, it draws too much electricity.”
The Fire Department recommends plugging the heater directly into the wall and leaving 3 feet of clearance around the heater. Make sure nothing is near or touching the heater, including bed sheets, curtains, clothing, towels or anything that could catch fire, Velazquez-Sanchez said.
“When you leave the room, you want to turn them off,” he said. “There’s no sense to have anything running when you’re not there. A lot of fires that happen with portable heaters happen because people left the room.”
The same rule applies to electric blankets, candles and incense. Turn them off when leaving the room or when falling asleep, he said.
“With our eyes closed, we’re not able to see fire,” he said. “Fire doesn’t make a noise. What’s burning is what makes a noise, and the smoke from a fire will put you into a deeper sleep.”
Advice for tenants
McGovern said in an email that when thinking about cold weather-related fires, the first thing to look at is loss of heat.
“As a tenant, the property owner is responsible for providing and maintaining heat for the unit,” he wrote. “Once we enter a series of days where it would markedly affect indoor temperatures, the minimum threshold (for how cold a unit can be) is 67 degrees, we advise the tenant to first contact the property owner/manager to address the issue before calling DNS.”
If a landlord or property manager is unresponsive, tenants should use the city Click 4 Action web portal or call 414-286-CITY. An inspector will be scheduled to come out.
An inspector must be given entry to the unit. They will use a thermometer to measure heat in the living areas of the unit.
Should the temperature fall below 67 degrees during an inspection, an emergency order will be issued for the property owner to address the violation.
Residents who are curious about whether their apartment complex is up to date on inspections can use the City of Milwaukee Land Management System to see this record on their property.
Additional advice
Velazquez-Sanchez also recommends using a carbon monoxide detector.
A carbon monoxide detector can detect harmful buildup of carbon monoxide (a colorless, odorless gas that can be toxic at high levels) and provide an early warning.
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to the common cold; people feel tired or dizzy because the carbon monoxide replaces the oxygen in their bloodstream.
When using a gas stove or a water heater, make sure the fire is blue. A blue flame indicates a clean burn, Velazquez-Sanchez said. If the whole burner is orange that is a sign of carbon monoxide, he said.
Other habits to adopt include cleaning your chimney, not turning the car on while the garage door is closed and closing bedroom doors when asleep.
“Most fires are preventable,” said Velazquez-Sanchez. “We just have to be more aware and proactive.”
Other resources
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