To save energy, some are turning to alternative means of heating. For example, there are wood-burning stoves. Problem: These devices are sometimes faulty or incorrectly installed. Their use can then be very risky. Another accident occurred this Friday in Sombreffe.
It is 12:15 p.m. this Friday when a house catches fire in Sombreffe, in the province of Namur. The house is devastated but the owners come out unscathed. Cause of the fire: improper use of the wood stove. “Fires as we know now and will continue to know are more and more frequent. Because at the level of the energy crisis, people heat themselves with anything as fuel. It can be wood that is varnished, wood that is painted. It can be pallets, fir…“, reacts Marc Gilbert, commander of the Val de Sambre rescue zone.
It will bring CO which might arrive in the room, which is very dangerous
Wood stoves, Gaël Drappa sells several kinds in his stores in Nivelles. For this expert, heating properly also means avoiding unpleasant surprises. “If an installation is badly dimensioned, or if it is badly carried out, what we can have mainly are chimney fires, but also combustion which will be incomplete. It will bring CO which might arrive in the room, which is very dangerous, or tar, which might create a chimney fire“, explains the seller of heating systems.
Symptoms of poisoning
By heating a room badly, we increase the share of carbon monoxide in the air. CO is an odorless gas that can cause death. To avoid it, it is necessary to take care to ventilate well. “The warning signs are usually the onset of a headache. Throat a little dry. It seems innocuous. If everyone in the room starts to have these symptoms, it’s high time to ventilate, and possibly call for help.“, says Marc Huwe, director of operations within the Hainaut-Centre rescue zone.
Every year in Belgium, 30 people die of carbon monoxide poisoning.
