We have entered the season when heat is neat.

But as we warm our homes, there is an increased risk of fires. The risk of carbon monoxide
poisoning is also greater.

June 2002 earthquake makes this even more important, because of hidden damage to
heating systems.

Heating equipment, including vents, should be properly installed and maintained.

Roger Lehman, the city-county building commissioner, strongly recommends that each home's
heating equipment and chimney be checked by a licensed heating contractor each year.

The threat of fire from fuel-burning equipment is fairly obvious. But the same equipment also can
produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

There are many sources of carbon monoxide poisoning, including furnaces, space heaters,
fireplaces, wood stoves, blocked chimneys, leaking flues, gas ranges, gas dryers, gas water heaters
and vechicles left running in the attached garages.

Gas ranges, ovens and dryers should not be used to heat the home.

Carbon monoxide is oderless and colorless and catches its victims unaware. Carbon monoxide
poisoning causes flulike symptoms, confusion and death. A couple on West Indiana Street lost
their lives last fall, in fall 2000, apparently because of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a
defective space heater.

If you suspect a carbon monoxide problem, leave your home and call 911. The Evansville Fire
Department will check it out.

Jim Fuchs, Fire Department chief inspector, says he thinks every household should have at
least one carbon monoxide detector to protect the family. Building Commissioner Lehman
recommends that people purchase carbon monoxide detectors as Christmas presents for their
loved ones.

Also, smoke detectors should be kept working. Test the smoke detectors monthly and change
the batteries every year.

The Evansville Urban Enterprise Association offers free carbon monoxide detectors and smoke
detectors to residents of the Enterprise Zone and the service areas outside the zone, including
the Jacobsville, STAR, Ballard, Old Erie Canal, Central City, Bellemeade-Bayard Park and
CHAIN neighborhoods. You can call the Evansville Urban Enterprise Association and pick them
up. The association is at 135 S. Garvin St., just south of the Lloyd Expressway; the phone number
is 812-426-2490.

Be careful with candles! A fire in November 2001, that killed four children in Norwich, Conn.,
was traced to a burning candle.

Every household should have a fire excape plan and practice it. Make sure every sleeping area
has two exits - usually the door and a window. A typical basement with one door and high
windows is not appropriate for sleeping.

The Indiana Weatherization Assistance Program will check and repair or replace heating
equipment for low-income Hoosiers. The weatherization program can save lives. It also
saves on heating bills.

The weatherization program is administered locally by CAPE (Community Action Program
of Evansville and Vanderburgh County). The phone number is 812-425-4241.

Please use this information on home heating safety and tell anyone else who might benefit.
You may save your life or another person's life.

OTHER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS:

- HOPE Inc.'s rehab program;  phone 423-3169.

- Handyman Program;  Phone 464-7813.

CAPE, HOPE and Handyman all have income limits.

Handyman's heating - related services are more limited than those of CAPE and HOPE.

Handyman will light furnaces, change furnace filters, make minor mortar repairs to chimneys,
install smoke detectors and weatherstrip windows and doors.

Handyman serves people ages 60 and older and handicapped people of all ages.