Ever since our parents’ lake house burned down when I was 16, I have been harshly cautious with fire.
In college I shared an apartment with more than two friends & I was often checking the smoke detectors on a proper basis to make sure they were still toiling.
My friends would joke about it at the time, but they didn’t understand the degree of fear a lake house fire puts into one’s mind. You get hyper aware of little things that could potentially lead to a fire hazard, care about leaving appliances blocked into electrical outlets even when they’re not in use. Perhaps our response to that fear is a form of OCD, but at least I’m making sure our lake house is safer when left alone for a day or longer. I want to go on a vacation soon & believe confident that I can leave our condo with the video surveillance cameras to alert myself and others if anything goes awry. When I’m at home, there are devices care about space oil furnaces that can pose problems if they’re not used properly. Old space oil furnaces could overheat themselves, fall over & start fires, & produce unusual fumes. But many of the newer space oil furnaces have improved dramatically with time, with many possessing tip-over shutoff switches that kill electricity to the space heating system if the switch determines that the unit is tipping over. Even more substantial is the overheat sensor. If the unit starts to overheat, the sensor kills power to the space heater. These safety features make myself and others believe safer using our newer space heater. I can turn it on with ease.