Space heater blamed for small fire in a Newton County residence

With cool mornings and warm days lately, many people have been using a heater at night and air- conditioning during the day. The use of a space heater resulted in a small fire in a Newton County home on Saturday morning, and Burkeville Fire Chief Charles Duckworth says it's a good reminder to be very careful with space heaters and heed all warnings about their use. According to Duckworth, it happened at about io:3o in a mobile home on Farm to Market Road 1414, southeast of Burkeville. Duckworth said firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the house and they quickly extinguished the small blaze. Fortunately, Duckworth said the damage was limited to just one small space in the house. Firefighters remind those who use space heaters, never plug them into an extension cord unless it is a high-capacity cord capable of handling a large amount of electricity. Also, never place a space heater near anything combustible, and never leave a space heater unattended.