Winter Heating Safety
NYCHA’s Environmental Health and Safety Department and Emergency Management and Services Department want to help you and your family stay safe if you use portable heaters at home. Perhaps the most critical thing to keep in mind is that space heaters need space – so always keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from a portable space heater.
Electric space heaters can be very dangerous.
- Never leave space heaters unattended, and turn them off when you leave the room, leave home, or go to bed.
- Space heaters should be placed on the floor, at least three feet away from flammable materials such as blankets, curtains, and newspapers.
- Plug them directly into a wall outlet instead of into an extension cord.
- Never plug more than one heat-producing appliance (such as a space heater) into an outlet at a time.
- Never use a space heater that doesn’t have the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) mark, which shows that the product has been safety tested.
- Turn a heater off immediately if the cord becomes hot.
- Ensure heaters have an automatic shutoff feature in case they get tipped over.
- Do not use kerosene or propane heaters, which are dangerous and illegal for indoor use in New York City.
Never use a gas or electric oven or stove to heat your home.
Leaving a gas stove or oven open to heat your home can lead to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, causing severe illness and even death. Using electric stoves to heat your home can be just as unsafe, causing fires or damage to the stove.
Ensure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working.
Make sure that you have a working smoke and carbon monoxide detector in your home. Test your alarm(s) once per month and change batteries when needed. If you do not have a working smoke detector in your apartment, submit a work ticket using MyNYCHA or by calling the Customer Contact Center (CCC) at 718-707-7771.
Report heat outages.
If you lose heat, submit a work ticket using MyNYCHA or by calling the CCC at 718-707-7771.
Access a warming center if necessary.
If your building loses heat for an extended time, the outdoor temperature is low, and repairs are estimated to take a long time, NYCHA may open a local warming center. You can go spend time at the warming center if your apartment feels too cold. If a warming center opens for your building, you will be notified by a robocall and a flyer telling you the location of the center. If you need any information or assistance with getting to a warming center when it is open for your building, call the CCC (718-707-7771) or your property management office.
If you have questions about this or any environmental health and safety matter, please email ehs@nycha.nyc.gov. Residents, employees, and any member of the public can submit environmental health and safety concerns at on.nyc.gov/submit-concern.
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