WACO, Texas — " I just happened to drive by and noticed that part of the house was on fire,” neighbor Haydn Hagwer said.
Tuesday afternoon, crews in Waco worked to put out a house fire that had been started by a heat lamp in the garage.
" All of those are unsafe, I believe, as a firefighter,” Downsville Fire Chief Jay Justice said.
Nearby neighbors did what they could to help out the family.
" I'm a vet tech, so I ran out and got the dogs, two cats, and his birds out," Hagwer said. "No animals or people were left in the house, but unfortunately, about half the house is gone now."
Although everyone escaped the home unharmed - local firefighters are still urging neighbors to stay away from heat lamps.
" Unfortunately, with heat lamps, they don't have a tip-over switch, so when they fall over, they break, and they explode,” Justice said.
Something 25 news is told happens far too often around this time of year.
" Right about this time, especially when we have cold weather like this, everybody goes and buys a cheap space heater, and before you know it, there's a house fire,” Justice said.
According to a study from the National Fire Protection Association, heating equipment is a leading cause of fires in U.S. homes and local fire departments respond to an estimated average of 44,210 home structure fires caused by heating equipment every year.
And more than 80% of home heating fire deaths involved stationary or portable space heaters.
The fire chief said our neighbors should consider using other alternatives.
" I prefer oil lamps; no matter what happens to them, they aren't going to start a fire,” Justice said.
As for Haydn, he's just glad to help his neighbors in need.
" It feels really good; I let him and his son know that if they need anything, I live just down the way,” Hagwer said.
