Fires – Hanover – Fire Brigade Association: Fan heaters can be a fire hazard – panorama
Hanover (dpa / lni) – In view of the uncertainties surrounding energy supply and gas, many people rely on electricity for heating – according to experts, this can be extremely dangerous. If power-driven fan heaters or electric convectors are used, more apartment fires are to be expected in the winter months, said the President of the Lower Saxony State Fire Brigade Association, Olaf Kapke, the German Press Agency. It is important to pay attention to the so-called CE marking when buying, which certifies that the device complies with European guidelines. The demand for fan heaters and radiators was already enormous in the summer.
Devices manufactured in Europe switch off Kapke in the event of overheating. Fan heaters can reach temperatures of up to 400 degrees, so they should not be placed near flammable objects. A location in the footwell in front of the sofa or in front of furniture would be unfavorable from his point of view – “we see a certain danger there,” warned Kapke.
From his point of view, the worst case is when clothes are dried with the electricity-powered heaters and the clothes are even placed over the devices: “They can start to burn,” he emphasized. It is therefore better to place the heaters in front of the normal radiators or in the room.
Compared to convection heaters, Kapke fan heaters are expected to warm up a room faster. But: Fan heaters are “insanely expensive” because of their power consumption https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/ “We don’t want the forecast of a longer-term power failure to come true,” said Kapke. As a rule, fan heaters have an output of between 1200 and 2000 watts.
Nevertheless, fan heaters are still better than many other conceivable considerations for replacing gas heating – at least when it comes to preventing fires. Kapke warned against using grills or heating rods from the terrace in the apartment. There is also a high risk of fire in autumn from sooty chimneys that have not been used for years, for example if a stove was bought spontaneously.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:221004-99-996525/2