Firefighters Offer Tips To Prevent Winter Blazes

The heat of the summer isn't the only time firefighters are fighting high rates of fires.

Firefighters say they deal with it during the dead of winter too in urban and rural areas. Tulsa Fire Department firefighters say even though it has been cold, fires are at a high right now, but they are almost entirely preventable.

Several grass fires burned in just the past week on the outskirts of Tulsa. Firefighters say even though its cold, the vegetation is still dry and burns easily.

There are laws in place in suburban areas to reduce the risk.

"You're not allowed to burn trash like you can in the country and things like that and that protects your neighbors in the city," said Andy Little, Tulsa Fire Department.

City residents, however, face other challenges during the cold winter months. In order to keep their homes warm people look for alternatives to their home's built in system.

"Space heaters, sometimes people use their ovens, stoves to heat the house and it's extremely important that you do not do that," Little said.

Little said this is the number one cause of fires this time of year.

"With the space heaters you have dangers. Children and pets can knock those over And start fires," said Little.

Even the built-in heating system in your home can cause problems if not maintained, Little said.

"If you don't regularly replace the filters, it puts a higher work load on you heater causing it to need more energy which can cause over worked and fires as well," said Little.

Right now Tulsa County isn't under a burn ban so they aren't fighting as many grass fires as fire departments in rural Oklahoma.

Little said they are still very busy.

"Fires are kind of at a high right now. We've had a lot of fires this year. We've had some arsons and we've also had some heating related fires and of course cooking fires is always a problem," said Little.

Little said he and the department encourage everyone to be proactive and cautious to prevent fires.