| According to the National Fire Protection Assoc. | | | | fireplaces misused less than ordinary space |
| (NFPA) heating equipment was the second leading | | | | heaters? |
| cause of home fires and home fire deaths. | | | | The answer to this lies in the overall size and |
| The heating equipment category includes central | | | | design of the electric fireplace. The placement of |
| heating, fixed and portable space heaters and | | | | the firebox in the middle of a 4 foot wide unit |
| wood stoves. Of these, fixed heaters (wall | | | | creates a natural buffer zone on either side |
| mounted or freestanding propane heaters) | | | | between it and draperies, furniture or bedding that |
| accounted for 17% of the fires and 28% of the | | | | might be in the room. |
| civilian deaths. | | | | By keeping flammables away from the heater |
| Portable heaters (propane and electric) caused far | | | | you will practically eliminate the number one cause |
| fewer fires, only 8% of the total, but accounted | | | | of space heater fires. |
| for 46% of the total deaths resulting from | | | | A portable fireplace is also regarded as a beautiful |
| heating equipment fires. | | | | piece of furniture which makes it less likely that |
| So how can this be with increasingly stringent | | | | bags of clothing, boxes, etc. would be piled in |
| portable heater manufacturing safety standards? | | | | front of it - never mind blocking the heat source. |
| The best answer to this question comes from | | | | The perception that a fireplace, by virtue of its |
| Fire Chief Eric Chichester of Parkersburg, WV, a | | | | size, is more powerful than it really is probably |
| state which had 6 heater related deaths in | | | | tempts fewer people to plug it into an overloaded |
| October: "The problem isn't really with the space | | | | extension cord. Plugging an electric fireplace into its |
| heater itself, but with misusing it and leaving it | | | | own wall socket all but eliminates another potential |
| unattended." | | | | fire hazard. |
| If misuse of the space heater and not the heater | | | | Finally, the flame display, crackling fire sound |
| itself is the cause of fires, which type of heater | | | | effect, and humming of the blower serve as a |
| would be prone to misuse more frequently; an | | | | constant reminder the fireplace is running and |
| electric fireplace or space heater? | | | | makes it less likely it would be left on when the |
| Although far fewer electric fireplaces are sold in | | | | house is unoccupied. |
| North America than electric space heaters, close | | | | Rather than trying to pit the electric fireplace |
| tracking of the occurrences of space heater fires | | | | against the electric space heater, the real purpose |
| so far this season has yet to reveal an instance | | | | of this article is to remind everyone that any |
| where an electric fireplace was a contributing | | | | space heater can be a safe heater if you keep it |
| factor. | | | | at least 3' away from combustibles, don't use an |
| This suggests that people are less likely to misuse | | | | extension cord, and remember to turn it off |
| an electric fireplace and therefore the fireplace is | | | | when you go to bed and leave the house. |
| safer. But this begs the question; why are electric | | | | |