Report: kids died in kerosene fire ...Family had no heat

[jayfish]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/Report_kids_died_in_kerosene_fire

A friend of the family, Mike Gabriel, whose son was dating the children's mother, says the family asked him about three weeks ago for a kerosene heater after their heat was turned off. He told them it was too dangerous.

"This is my worst fear. It's dangerous for everybody," Gabriel said.

His wife later gave them an electric heater.

The Gabriels said the family was struggling for money. "They had troubles with a lot of things. Everybody struggles with the economy."

Charlotte Gabriel said the family told her the heat bill had reached about $1,500 before the heat was turned off.

DTE based in Detroit terminated the family's gas service on January 28. The family had made its last payment in September.

This is a local story but it's the second story I know of (here in MI) where people have died as a direct or indirect result of having their heating-fuel source cut. What would it take to enact a national moratorium against utility disconnections? I think this is going to get worse when the weather starts to heat up this summer.

RIP Little Ones,

Jay

[MADem]

1. I used kerosene for heat for years. It's a common fuel to use in the Middle East and

other nations as well. It does provide a lot of bang for the buck.

It's not unsafe, if you know what you're doing and you're scrupulous about keeping your heater in good nick, as well as providing ventilation. You also should keep the heater away from anywhere where it can be tipped, or catch other things on fire.

It's not a good fit with kids, unless you monitor your children unceasingly, aggressively train your children to respect the heater or find a way to effectively bar them from messing with the thing. The best bet is to put the kids in sub-zero sleeping bags and turn the thing OFF at night if you're using that sort of heat source.

Sad story. A real shame.

[ejpoeta]

2. we have used kerosene heater to heat our house in the past.

and we had a young daughter. it was when our electricity was out. i did not know that we could get in trouble for using kerosene. i had a friend a couple of years ago that had been told that she could lose her kids if she used kerosene heater. what do you do if you have no heat?? i remember having kerosene heater when i was a kid, too. so for me, it just seemed like an ok thing.

i thought they couldn't cut off the electric in a home with young kids? in the winter?? it is very sad.

[jayfish]

3. That's A Common Misconception.

My mother and I had a little argument over it recently. They can cut your service anytime of the year regardless of who lives at the service address.

Jay

[elocs]

4. Here in WI by law utilities are not allowed to shut off people's heat or electricity

in winter months. This should be the law in every state which has cold winters and it would prevent these kinds of tragedies.