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Freezing winter temperatures take a toll on equipment, making it the worst time for residential fires, according to Fire Prevention Canada.

With your furnace running more often, Swift Current's Deputy Fire Chief of Prevention and Public Education, Pete L'Heureux says, "Faulty bearings, belts and overuse tends to cause a lot of heat and minor fires."

Space heaters used in cool areas often run on extension cords which are frequently undersize and electrical outlets are overloaded.

L'Heureux adds, "We're putting a lot of demand on the systems. People are running a lot of equipment so that's one of the reasons it's hard specifically for home fires. Candles, fireplaces, space heaters and small portable gas heaters shouldn't be run in your home, but people sometimes do."

Carbon monoxide issues surface more during the winter months with fuel-fired appliances.

"Furnaces, chimneys or exhaust vents that are obstructed by snow can become covered," says the Deputy Fire Chief. "This can lead or contribute to a problem with a system, whether a furnace with a cracked heat exchange or things like that with a tendency to leak carbon monoxide. Especially when they're run so often and consistently, they start to leach high volumes of carbon monoxide into our homes."

To minimize these risks, Pete recommends getting a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector, checking and replacing batteries on a regular basis.

With carbon monoxide, it's also important to check your chimneys and exhaust.

"With the advent of people installing far more high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters," he says, "we've got side exhausts on our house instead of using the regular chimney and because they're so low and close to the house, a snowbank and buildup of ice and exhaust and the condensation that comes from the exhaust can actually block off or obstruct the exhaust ports leading to backup of gas inside the home."

Cleaning out your furnace is essential, checking that the furnace and belt are in good condition.

Anytime it fire's up and it squeals and makes noise or there's issues, have someone inspect to see it's running properly and up to standard to prevent the possibility of leaking carbon monoxide and also check the maintenance so it won't lead to smoke or fire in your home.

With public concerns over the recent fire at a senior's residence in Quebec, the Deputy Fire Chief reports, "Every seniors' residence in Swift Current must meet the code of the day it was built, specifically the minimum basic requirements and standards set for occupancy - assembled occupancies, sleeping occupancies and residential occupancies. They are inspected annually by a code inspector from the fire department to make sure it meets minimum safety requirements and basic fire code requirements."

L'Heureux states, "The National Fire Code of Canada is set by a regulatory body that includes professionals, people working in the field of study as well as the field of construction and service for different industries of said code. Those codes are adopted by the provinces and within our city has been adopted as our fire code by City Council. These same set of codes are our national, provincial and local code. We have adopted and are running under the National Fire Code of Canada 2010 edition."

For more fire safety tips, visit www.canadasafetycouncil.org and www.fiprecan.ca