For Additional Headlines - go to our News Section »

• Enforcement Cracks Down on Spring Breakers; 126 Arrested
  made by forrestgumball
• Enforcement Cracks Down on Spring Breakers; 126 Arrested
  made by mrtonyjones
• Pedestrian Hit in Lynn Haven
  made by George the painter
• ABT Arrests 125 on the First Night of Spring Break Enforcement
  made by gator
• Pot Bust on Panama City Beach
  made by forrestgumball

• Inmate Beaten at Graceville Correctional Facility Dies
• Surgeon’s Wife Arrested for Drugs
• Pedestrian Hit in Lynn Haven
• Student in Bus Crash Dies
• Department of Health urges Floridians to be Aware of Gastrointestinal Illnesses
• Bay County Man Arrested on Multiple Drug Charges
• Enforcement Cracks Down on Spring Breakers; 126 Arrested
• Pot Bust on Panama City Beach
• Injuries in Gadsden County School Bus Crash
• New Bill Gets Teachers Fired Up

House Fire a Reminder of Cold-Weather Danger
11/06/09 - 04:35 PM
 RSS Feed

A family’s home is completely destroyed after a fire ripped through on Gulf County residence Thursday night.  No injuries were reported, but the house is a total loss.  Officials believe the family was lighting a fire in the fireplace when it got out of control.

“This is the time of year when the fire service sees a large influx of fires,” said Panama City Beach Fire Capt. Joe Cocco.  He says scenes like the one Thursday evening are familiar, and many can be prevented.

“Start off with a small amount of wood and don’t overload your fire place,” he said, “Make sure you use a screen so no sparks will come out.”

Cocco says there are a lot of common mistakes with home-heating.

“That’s how a lot of chimney fires start… people overload their fireplaces, too much wood,” he said, “If you’re having a problem starting your wood, no flammable liquids at all.”

Mistakes with portable heaters account for about 70 percent of heat-related fire deaths a year.

“We’ve had a lot of people put the wrong type of fuel in some of these portable heaters,” said Cocco, “that could obviously be very dangerous and cause a home fire.”

Having a good alarm system and constant fire-preparedness plan can also be life-savers in a heated situation.

“Especially during this time a year when fire causes are a lot higher,” said Cocco, “very important to have many many working smoke detectors and that fire escape plan very important.”

Click here for more information on heat-related precautions with fire, or carbon monoxide.