“We just want to remind people that unattended portable heating units pose a significant risk to your life and property.”
Just before 6pm Tuesday at a home on Grand Rapids northwest side, a man was working on his truck inside a garage warmed by a propane heater.
He went inside the house, heard a “boom” and rushed back to find a ball of fire engulfing the garage.
Three hours later across the city on the southeast side, heavy brown smoke billowed from the second-floor window of a home where a resident had been using a portable heater in an unfinished attic space that ignited a roll of insulation.
“These fires could have been avoided. We’re not assessing blame or anything like that, but we really have to tell you: pay attention to your portable heating devices.”
Smith urges people to turn off heaters when going to bed, don’t use them in enclosed spaces or with poor ventilation, and always install carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms.
The fire department even offers Grand Rapids homeowners a free home safety inspection.
“And we also provide you with free smoke alarms and we will install them. This is something you don’t see very much around the nation but we’re very proud of.”
Smith reminds renters that landlords are required to provide smoke alarms in all units as well.
