{"id":179,"date":"2026-04-28T07:54:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/?p=179"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:57:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:57:40","slug":"brrrits-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/brrrits-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Brrr\u2026it\u2019s winter!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Discover<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every winter, houses burn down due to carelessness or lack of maintenance. So here\u2019s a quick checklist of what to consider.
\u2022 Make sure smoke alarms are fitted, tested and maintained
\u2022 Inspect your heaters for damage or frayed cords.
\u2022 Clean your heater. If it has a filter, make sure it\u2019s clean and do this on a regular basis.
\u2022 Check electric blankets for frayed cords and damage
\u2022 Keep an eye on your food when cooking
\u2022 Make sure all of your burners are turner off completely
\u2022 Do not place your heater near curtains and maintain at least a metre clearance around it
\u2022 Be aware of any burning smells, electrical or otherwise.
\u2022 Get your electrical system checked for excess loads and faults
\u2022 Never use wheat bags to warm your bed. They can self combust! Use a water bottle instead.
\u2022 Do not overload your power boards. Check the wattage of your appliance. Most power boards are rubbish and are not designed to carry many loads. Plug your heater directly into a power point, not a power board.
\u2022 Check the connections of your power boards and power points for looseness. A loose connection will create arcing.
\u2022 Develop an escape plan with your home\u2019s occupants
\u2022 Clean the lint out of your clothes dryer after every use. Develop a habit. Yes, your dryer can catch fire too.
\u2022 Be aware of your clothing near heaters or fires.
\u2022 Do not charge your phone or gadget in bed or under your pillow!
\u2022 Be aware of your pets and children and fire hazards.
\u2022 Never leave a candle burning unattended or overnight.
\u2022 Do not leave fan heaters on over night or unattended.
\u2022 I know this sounds obvious, but do not use outdoor cooking or heating equipment indoors.
\u2022 If you have a fireplace or chimney, get it checked and cleaned regularly.
\u2022 Get a fire extinguisher for the house and garage or shed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every winter, houses burn down due to carelessness or lack of maintenance. So here\u2019s a quick checklist of what to consider.\u2022 Make…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-home-maintenance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/discover-a-tranquil-winter-scene-with-frosty-trees-lining-a-quiet-rural-road.-271471-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions\/181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highlandsfixit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}