As part of Fire Prevention Week, fire officials and kids across Missouri are going through drills to create home safety plans. Fire officials say there is an often-overlooked item in a house that can lead to disaster – space heaters. If you are moving to Kansas City you may want to leave this dangerous item behind.

Supplemental heating devices, or space heaters, are mainly used in the winter to heat your home. When fire places are not installed in the home or your AC heater doesn’t work as good, people tend to purchase space heaters. Kansas City movers want homeowners to be warned that this dangerous household item accounts for 80 percent of deaths related to home heating fires. Last February, seven Missourians died within five days, and space heaters account for 25,000 fires and 300 deaths nationwide each year.

Greg Carrell, a Missouri fire marshal, says it’s important to keep flammables a safe distance from the heaters. “Curtains, tablecloths, couches, chairs, you know, anything that can burn, you should keep the space heater back away from that,” he urges. “We talk about at least three feet of distance, we talk about kid-free and pet-free zones. They could easily knock these over.” He goes on to say that turning off these heaters before bed is essential in ensuring safety.

Any heating device that burns a fuel produces carbon monoxide, so make sure that such items are properly handled and turned off after every use. All My Sons Moving & Storage Kansas City wants you and your family to be safe this winter as you enjoy the upcoming cold months, so if you are moving to Kansas City and will be needing a space heater, take extra precaution.