As temperatures drop and people begin turning on their furnaces and sparking their fireplaces for the winter, fire departments in Butler County prepare for an increase in calls for smoke in homes.

Butler Bureau of Fire Captain Jim Kaufman said unchecked furnaces and fireplaces can burn too much upon their first use of the season, causing not structure fires, but instead smoke-filled homes.

“We don't do a lot of fires in town, but we have a lot of people call about smoke indoors,” he said. “When people start their furnaces up and haven't been cleaned, that dust can start burning.”

According to Kaufman, calls for service typically stay the same or even increase during the winter compared to the rest of the year. Cold temperatures can lead to longer heating processes in homes, and snowy or frozen roads can result in more car crashes than usual.

In response, the fire bureau prepares its trucks for the cold weather.

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