ROXBURY TWP. Fire Official Michael Pellek is warning residents to use extreme caution with portable heating devices, especially as the weather strikes zero digits.

Rockaway Borough just had a structure fire last week that was caused by a space heater, Pellek said Wednesday.

In that incident, a malfunctioning space heater is believed to have accidentally sparked a blaze in a Marshall Avenue home early on the morning of Friday, Jan. 30.

According to Rockaway Borough Police, a couple, their 17-year-old and 10-year-old daughters and a dog were sleeping in the home at about 4:42 a.m. when the 17-year-old awoke to the smell of smoke in her room.

The teenager called 911 and the family was able to escape before police arrived on the scene. No one was injured, police said.

The home sustained fire and water damage.

Pellek said that with the popularity of small, personal heating devices, fires like this are becoming more common in the winter months.

Fifty percent of all structure fires reported during the months of December, January and February are caused by heater fires, Pellek said.

And Roxbury Township has not been immune.

Last January 2014, a resident was seriously injured in a fire on Circle Drive that was caused by a space heater, Pellek said.

See the original post here:
Roxbury fire official: Be careful with portable heaters

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