With the New Year now here and the temperature refusing to rise above zero, daring to venture outside can become an impossible task especially for the elderly. In-fact many will be sitting in their homes watching television cuddled up on the couch with the halogen heater burning in the corner to keep the room nice and warm. Unfortunately, a lot of older people don’t have these heaters and rely on the old bar type heaters, gas fires or an open fire instead.

Looking into an open fire can be somewhat comforting, watching the flames lap round wooden logs, it gives a sense of warmth just thinking about it, but as with all fires there are dangers associated with open fires. With open fires you have to make sure that the chimneys are swept and free of any obstacles, also when lighting your open fire keep it small as it is easier to maintain should it get out of control.

Bar heaters and gas fires both produce a lot of heat, therefore no items should be placed in-front of them, that includes clothes, furniture, pets etc.. Since many of these appliances have may not have been used for some time, it is advisable that you get all heating appliances serviced and checked out by qualified engineers.

Whatever your heating preference there is one thing that everyone must not forget, that is to make sure that all homes are properly protected by smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detector alarms and proper fire extinguishers. In the event that something might go wrong, it gives you the peace of mind to know that you will hear the alarm, giving you those extra seconds to make important decisions.