Baseboard heater leads to Dodson Avenue house fire

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Chattanooga Fire Department has ruled Saturday afternoon’s house fire on Dodson Avenue accidental.

The fire investigator determined that clothes and a plastic container had been placed next to a baseboard heater. These items eventually got too hot and caught fire.

Chattanooga Fire officials say no one was injured in the fire but a mother and six children were displaced.

The Chattanooga Fire Department recommends the following tips from the NFPA to help prevent most heating related fires:

• “Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.
• Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.
• Test smoke alarms at least once a month.”

**Photo from Chief Hampton, Chattanooga Fire Department