House fires prompt appliance warning
August 13th, 2012
A spate of house fires across Sydney over the weekend has prompted authorities to urge households to remain cautious for the last month of winter.
The blazes saw firefighters called out to three separate incidents in the Blue Mountains – as well as a burnt-out home in Sydney’s south – since Friday (August 10).
According to Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Paul Bailey, while the cause of the blazes is yet to be confirmed, they act as a reminder for homeowners to remain wary.
“When you fill your house up with heaters and have open fires … then it absolutely adds to the danger and people have to be way more vigilant,” he told AAP sources yesterday (August 12).
“If you’re going to have heating appliances inside then you’ve got to ensure that you take all the safety precautions.”
The warning comes just weeks after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released its top winter product safety tips, including staying away from open heat sources while wearing highly flammable winter fabrics and only using outdoor heaters and barbeques in well-ventilated areas rather than indoors.
Hopefully the weather will start to warm up in the coming weeks – but Australians must also remember that when it comes time to pack the gas heater away, they must be serviced every two years or in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
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