Fire Rescue News - Space heaters causing more fires this winter, southern New Jersey firefighters say

By CAITLIN DINEEN Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com | 0 comments

 forever. Or at least since I’ve been around,” said Atlantic County Fire Marshal Harold “Whitey” Swartz, who has 54 years of fire prevention experience.

The trend seems to ring true for hundreds of southern New Jersey residents who have been displaced by fires that have happened since temperatures began to dip.

More than 330 people were displaced Wednesday from the Metropolitan Plaza apartment building on South Rhode Island Avenue in Atlantic City after an electrical fire forced an evacuation.

Residents were allowed to grab a change of clothes, valuables and medication before they were locked out of the building from Wednesday night to Friday.

Firefighters who responded to the blaze Wednesday said it started after one of the main electrical feeds to the building overheated.

While some fires are the result of electrical errors, Swartz and other fire officials said most of the fires that occur in winter are simply the result of user error.

“There are a lot more appliances generating heat,” Cologne Volunteer Fire Company Chief Dave Elkner said Thursday.

Elkner said his fire company responded to 339 calls for service pertaining to fires last year. That was the second highest number of calls for fire response by the company, he said.

However, Elkner said that while the department is responding to more calls, the areas of Egg Harbor Township they respond to have also expanded in the past several years.

“Our worst fire season starts in November,” Swartz said, adding that the improper use of space heaters, both electric and kerosene, and unchecked and dirty chimneys start fires that are preventable. “They’re safe if used properly.”

Swartz said that between January and February, firefighters have responded to calls for a variety of problems that can occur during the winter.

He said Christmas tree fires used to be common — caused by the combination of dry needles and hot tree lights — but that has declined with the advent of new lights that generate less heat and the increased used of fake trees.

Contact Caitlin Dineen:  609-272-7231  CDineen@pressofac.com