Electrical Fireplaces and Your Safety

Every year, house fires destroy properties, burn possessions, and sometimes even take lives. There are a multitude of possible causal factors behind these fires, from electrical malfunctions to gas leaks. The majority of house fires in the United States occur in the winter season, when holiday lights are hung and fireplaces start to blaze. It seems that many seasonal domestic fires originate in the hearth, the fireplace that warms a home. Fire is a wonderfully comfortable natural force, and our fascination with it is certainly merited, but it is simply not safe. This winter, consider a much safer alternative: electrical fireplaces. Electric fireplaces have all the practicality, warmth, and beauty of a wood burning fireplace, without the unnecessary safety hazards.

These portable fire units have a number of safeguards, both inherent and contrived, that prevent serious fire dangers and damages. The most obvious safety feature of an electrical fireplace is the fact that there is no real flame. Free standing electric fireplaces provide all of the warmth and winter comfort of a traditional wood burning or gas fireplace, but they do not produce a flame and therefore have none of the safety threats associated with nature’s most destructive force. You do not burn wood, you do not ignite gas, so you won’t have to worry about uncontrollable fires. At the same time, you do not have to worry about inhaling all of those potentially harmful gaseous vapors. And electric fireplaces don’t irritate your lungs the way old fashioned fireplaces often do, because electric fireplace heaters do not produce airborne ash and soot particles.

Electrical fireplaces are tested and approved by UL standards of safety, and many models come equipped with useful built in thermostats and automatic shutoff features that will keep the unit from overheating and prevent accidental electrical fires. The vast majority of these fireplaces also come equipped with a protective safety-glass casing that is cool to the touch no matter how hot the heating element inside the firebox gets and a nice wood fireplace surround. This is an essential safety feature for households with pets or small children, who might otherwise burn themselves on the heating element.

Safety does not have to come at the cost of aesthetics, however. Many electric fireplace screens are designed to be elegant and attractive fireplace features, and they also serve a very useful safety function. For pure utility and safety, an electric fireplace simply cannot be beat.