Home LOCAL NEWS “There is no arsonist”: Blossom VFD Chief assures residents, encourages heater safety

“There is no arsonist”: Blossom VFD Chief assures residents, encourages heater safety

by MyParisTexas
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Blossom Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeff Stover is speaking out amid concerns of an arsonist in Blossom.

“While we have responded to multiple fires recently in Blossom, we don’t believe any of them are arson,” said Stover.

Over the past month, firefighters have responded to four structure fires in Blossom leaving residents questioning why there are so many fires.

“We are waiting on insurance investigations on two of the fires but there is no one setting the fires.”

Stover said they suspect heaters to be the cause of some of the fires.

“It’s cold and people are leaving heaters going which uses more electricity to heat homes,” explained Stover. “It puts a heavy load on electrical wires and circuits in older homes which can cause fires.”

The Paris Fire Department echoes Stover’s caution in using space heaters.

“If you have a space heater in your home, you need to make sure you don’t have them close to any combustible items such as boxes, trash cans etc. and they should not be plugged into an extension cord they need to be plugged directly into a wall outlet,” said Paris Fire Department’s Deputy Chief Bob Rast.

Between 2011 and 2015, portable and stationary space heaters accounted for 43% of home heating fires and 85% of home heating fire deaths.

“If you have a space heater in your home, you need to make sure you don’t have them close to any combustible items such as boxes, trash cans etc. and they should not be plugged into an extension cord they need to be plugged directly into a wall outlet.”

Officials also stress the urgency of making sure your home is equipped with a working smoke detector year-round, but especially during the colder months.

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