There’s something about winter that makes our homes feel extra cosy. While the wind and snow howls outside, you can curl up on the couch next to the fireplace, reading a good book and drinking a warm cup of tea.

But with all of the equipment we use to keep ourselves warm during our cold Canadian winters, there are a couple of safety tips you should know that will help keep you and your family comfortable and safe this season.

• Have your furnace inspected every year
• Keep flammable materials like paper, clothing, bedding and rugs away from your furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heaters
• Have a zone of at least three feet around open ires and space heaters to keep children and pets at a safe distance
• Never use your oven to heat your home
• Always have stationary heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment installed by a professional so you know it’s up to local codes and manufacturers’ instructions
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year
• Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed; make sure embers in the fireplace are extinguished before leaving your home or going to bed
• Make sure your fireplace’s screen is sturdy to stop sparks from flying into the room and potentially setting furniture or fabrics alight
• Test your smoke alarms every month
• Place space heaters on a level, hard and nonflammable surface; don’t place space heaters on carpet or rugs
• Look for a space heater model that shuts off automatically when it falls over
• If you smell gas, turn your furnace off and leave your home; call the gas company and fire department from a safe place
• Never throw liquid fuel, compressed gas containers or batteries into your fireplace
• Put fireplace ashes into a non-combustible container when the fire’s been put out; keep the container outside and away from decks or wall siding
• If your space heater runs on fuel, don’t refill it while it’s on; fill it outdoors when it’s off and has cooled off completely

From everyone at Bryan’s Fuel, we hope you have a safe and happy winter!