SOUTH CAROLINA, Jan. 7, 2025 —As temperatures drop, the American Red Cross of South Carolina, urges families to take steps to heat their home safely.

“Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fires in this country,” said Yolonda Gainwell, Interim CEO of the Red Cross of South Carolina. “But, there are steps people can take to avoid having this happen to them. Help keep your family safe by providing at least three feet of space around all heating equipment, testing your smoke alarms monthly and practicing your two-minute home fire escape plan.”  

Here in South Carolina, the Red Cross responds to an average of six home fires every day — and home fire responses increase by about 30% during colder months.

"Over the last few weeks, sadly we've seen a spike in residential fires, especially multifamily fires. This means more families displaced and more individuals who need our support, such as mental and spiritual care and health services to replace medical items lost in the fires," said Tony Reid, Regional Disaster Officer, for the Red Cross of South Carolina. "We dispatch more responders to apartment fires to make sure that we can meet the immediate needs of everyone displaced, and then of course all of the follow up we do throughout the recovery phase. We always need more volunteers to join the Red Cross to help respond to frequent local home fires."  

HOW TO SAFELY HEAT YOUR HOME According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), space heaters are most often responsible for home heating fires. Follow these tips on how to safely heat your home:

• If you must use a space heater, never leave it unattended. Place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface, such as a ceramic tile floor. Don’t place it on rugs and carpets, or near bedding and drapes.
• Plug space heater power cords directly into outlets — never into an extension cord. Turn the space heater off every time you leave the room or go to sleep. 
• Keep children, pets and anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment.
• Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.
• Never leave a fire burning in the fireplace unattended. Make sure any embers in the fireplace are extinguished before going to bed or leaving home. Use a glass or metal fire screen to keep embers in the fireplace.
• Have furnaces, chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves inspected annually by a professional and cleaned if necessary.

PREVENT HOME FIRE TRAGEDIES To help protect your family year-round, test your smoke alarms monthly and practice your home fire escape plan until everyone can escape in less than two minutes — the amount of time you may have to get out of a burning home before it’s too late.

IF YOU NEED HELP If you cannot afford to purchase smoke alarms or are physically unable to install one, the Red Cross may be able to help. Contact your local Red Cross for help. 

Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including an escape plan to practice with your family. Download the free Red Cross First Aid app so you’ll know what to do if emergency help is delayed and the free Emergency app for weather alerts, open Red Cross shelter locations and safety steps for different emergencies. Choose whether you want to view the content in English or Spanish with an easy-to-find language selector. Find these and all of the Red Cross apps in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

HOME FIRE CAMPAIGN SAVE LIVES Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, working with community partners, has saved at least 2,246 lives by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across the country. To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit redcross.org/homefires. 

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.