A weekend fire that started in a child's bedroom in east Chattanooga displaced a family of seven.
No one was inside the home on the 3300 block of Dodson Avenue when it erupted in flames Saturday afternoon, according to a news release from the Chattanooga Fire Department.
But the mother and six children who live in the home are receiving aid from the American Red Cross of southeast Tennessee temporarily in wake of the fire, according to the fire department.
The fire was ruled accidental and contained to the bedroom. Firefighters said combustibles - a plastic container and clothes - were too close to a baseboard heater and burst into flames when they got too hot.
Fire officials said the blaze was contained to the bedroom, but the rest of the house had smoke and water damage.
The fire department said half of home heating equipment fires are reported from December-February and issued the following tips to prevent such incidents.
- 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.