Commanders Action Line: Space heaters Published Sept. 18, 2009 72nd Air Base Wing TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Q:Our director recently enforced a new policy of not allowing personal heaters. Has this policy become official base wide? A: Occupational Safety and Health Standard 91-501 places the responsibility on organizational leadership for providing a safe and healthy working area. Your supervisor must ensure the following has been accomplished before giving an employee approval: · Notify facility manager or organizational building representative regarding potential work area temperature control issues · If the heating systems is suspect, call CE service desk to request a system check · If the heating system is operating normally, validate employee's medical condition requiring a higher than normal thermostat temperature setting · Before employee operates a space heater, validate that the electrical circuit can handle the load, i.e., do not use computer electrical outlets, and ensure circuit use does not exceed 1,400 watts. Do not use extensions cords and/or power strips with a space heater. And, use a low watt heater. · Ensure the space heater is an approved UL device (equipped with automatic shut-off, an overheat protection device, and an automatic thermostat control) · Heater must be placed an 18-inch minimum from combustibles or with manufacturer specifications (whichever is requirement provides greater distance from combustibles) · Heater must not be left unattended when in use and unplugged at the end of the day. In order to educate TAFB supervisors and employees on the use of space heaters in the work areas, the Tinker Fire Department will soon publish a TAFBI 32-2001 Fire Prevention Instruction. This directive will include appropriate use of space heaters. If you need more information regarding this subject, you may contact the Tinker Safety office at 739-3263, Fire Prevention office at 734-3981 or Civil Engineering Service Desk at 734-3117.