One Brick Short

Electric, kerosene, white gas heaters; fireplaces, woodstoves and candles—it’s winter out there and bunches of us are trying to find ways to stay warm and save bucks on expensive oil, electric baseboard and natural gas costs.

Understandable. Commendable from a purely fiscal viewpoint, but also dangerous. Open flames and intense heat sources easily ignite things around them.

Melting candles on a fireplace mantle are believed to have caused a fire that recently killed an Albemarle County man. The cause of a Nelson County fire that killed a mom and son hasn’t been determined yet, but could likely be from an alternative heat source.

Three deaths in a week is a tragedy and a warning. Be careful.