Cherry Hill Fire's viral safety post is providing crucial information for winter months
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) – A Facebook post by the Cherry Hill Fire Department about fire safety is going viral after the department said it responded to multiple house fires since November.
The social media post showed a burnt-out power strip, which, the department said, could happen if a person plugs a space heater into a power strip instead of a wall outlet.
According to the department, the post has reached 400,000 people.
With cooler temperatures, some may want to use their small space heaters. If so, DO NOT plug them into a power strip....
Posted by Cherry Hill Fire Department on Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Fire Marshal Joseph Cornforth said the post came after the department responded to three house fires since November.
"All with some safety items in mind, disposal of ashes, use of extension cord in heaters," Cornforth said. "If we can just put this knowledge and this information out there, if we can reduce the occurrence of fire, then we did our job."
One of the house fires happened across the street from Sherri Evans' home.
"It was just a scene from a disaster movie that you would never ever expect," Evans said. "It just kept burning and burning and burning. The firemen went in, and it looked like there was things that were collapsing. It was very scary."
Evans said she emphasizes fire safety with her four children because she's personally dealt with the trauma of a fire.
"I was in a fire as a child, and my parents died, so we were lucky that they got us out, but they never made it out themselves," Evans said. "So fire awareness, fire safety has always been key for me."