With temperatures already plummeting in some parts of the U.S. as a fierce winter storm rolls in, federal safety regulators are warning consumers to stay safe as they fire up home heating devices in a bid to stay warm.
Gasoline-powered generators, furnaces and fireplaces can emit carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death if inhaled. Heating sources can also spark fires. Electric space heaters are involved in an average of 1,600 fires a year, while fireplaces and chimneys are involved in an average of 15,400 such incidents, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Here are some tips from the CPSC on how to use home heating equipment safely.
Roughly 200 million Americans are in the path of the incoming winter storm, which is expected to unleash a mix of snow, ice and frozen rain across a huge swath of the country starting Friday.
