Three of the calls answered by firefighters Saturday and Sunday were termed weather-related, including one that involved a space heater, one that was started when a homeowner was trying to thaw frozen water pipes; and a chimney fire.
Cagle says in the case of the space heater, a bathroom door was opened and ended up almost against the heater which was in the wall. He says that ignited the door which, in turn, spread to the rest of the bathroom.
As for thawing frozen pipes, Cagle says never use an open flame to do this, such as a blow torch or rolled up newspapers; try an hair dryer, instead. Better yet, he says, be pro-active and prepare for this type of weather and frozen pipes before they occur. Wrap the pipes if they are exposed to the cold and are not insulated which is the case with many older homes and mobile homes.
Cagle also says never burn things such as paper and cardboard in your fireplace and have your chimneys cleaned regularlly.
There was also a heat source-related fire - and explosion - over the weekend in Barrow County at a house on South Williams Street in Winder. A propane gas tank being used to heat the house exploded about 3:00 Friday morning leaving James Rusk injured. His injuries, however, were not life-threatening and other members of his family escaped unharmed.
Winder Detective Sgt. Rachel Love said the front door and several windows were blown out of the house.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
There was also a heat source-related fire - and explosion - over the weekend at this house on S. Williams St. in Winder.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/1/223891