With the intense cold sweeping through the Raccoon Valley Radio-listening area, there are some important safety precautions when it comes heating your home. 

Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator A.J. Seely says for those considering using supplemental heating sources such as space heaters, he suggests that people use an electric heater instead of a combustion style heater.

“A lot of those are not able to be run in closed conditions so you would not want to run one of those inside of a house for fear of building up carbon monoxide. We want to make sure we use a space heater that is appropriate for the space and most cases that would probably mean an electric space heater.”

Seely advises electric heaters should not be plugged into extension cords, power strips or other devices that extend outlets. He says space heaters need to be plugged directly into an outlet. 

“If we don’t follow that it can actually increase the probability for risk of fire.”

Seely adds you should not use your oven to heat your home.