City Agencies Warn of Residential Fire Hazards During Historically Cold Winter

For Immediate Release: February 12, 2026
CONTACT: [email protected], (212) 393-2126

CITY AGENCIES WARN OF RESIDENTIAL FIRE HAZARDS DURING HISTORICALLY COLD WINTER

FDNY, DOB, and HPD to Meet With Community Groups to Spread Awareness About Fire Safety in Multiple Dwelling Apartment Buildings

New York, NY - Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani, and Housing Commissioner Dina Levy today announced a new citywide outreach campaign to warn New Yorkers about common hazards during the winter months that can lead to devastating fires. Every year, as the weather gets colder, New York City sees a spike in the number of building fires, many of which are caused when New Yorkers turn to unsafe methods to stay warm in their buildings. In the coming weeks, Department representatives will travel across the five boroughs to meet with tenant associations and other community groups to talk about fire safety, tenant and landlord responsibilities, and steps to take if New Yorkers find themselves without heat or hot water during Heat Season.

"Fire safety education is a tool the public can use to prevent fires and keep themselves and their families safe," said FDNY Commissioner Bonsignore. "In the cold winter months, it's especially important to understand how to stay safe, how to mitigate hazards, and to have a fire safety plan. We are excited to partner with DOB and HPD to spread this message to the residents who need it most."

"Winter is far from over, and our message to New Yorkers is simple: stay warm, but do it safely," said Buildings Commissioner Tigani. "Unpermitted electrical work, improper use of space heaters, and damaged extension cords can all pose a major fire safety risk. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen devastating multi-alarm fires across the city, many of them that could have been prevented. Working with our partners at FDNY and HPD, we are getting the word out to the public about how to stay warm and stay safe when the temperatures drop."

This winter has been particularly cold in New York City. Just this past weekend, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued an Extreme Cold Warning for dangerously cold wind chills that reached to 20 below zero degrees. The days of frigid temperatures in January constituted the longest stretch of below freezing temperature days since 2018. This startling cold weather brings with it an increased risk of fires and other emergencies.

New Yorkers should be aware of this increased fire risk, and take the following precautions to prevent fires in their buildings:

• Space heaters must be used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, including placing them only on flat surfaces, never using them too close to flammable materials like curtains and furniture, and never leaving them running in an unoccupied room.
• Extension cords should never be used to power space heaters, which should always be connected directly into a wall outlet. Extension cords should only be used temporarily and should never be daisy chained together. Extension cords that show visible damage should never be used and should be thrown away.
• Candles and other open flames inside a building should never be left unattended. Any open flames should be kept away from flammable materials and extinguished before going to sleep.
• Gas-fed ovens and cooking ranges should never be used to provide heat, due to the risk of the pilot light going out and gas filling rooms.
• Old and defective electric blankets should be discarded. Only use electric blankets that are in good condition, equipped with modern safety features such as automatic timer shutoffs, and are Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved.
• Properly test and maintain smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they are in working condition. Detectors should be tested regularly, and if your alarm uses removable batteries, change them out twice a year
• Carbon monoxide is released when fuels don't burn properly, any fuel-burning appliance or equipment that is not correctly vented or maintained can be a source of deadly carbon monoxide gas.
• Never allow unpermitted or unlicensed electrical and gas plumbing work be performed in your home. This illegal work is often not performed properly, creating a severe unseen fire risk inside of building walls.
• Tenants should call their landlords and 311 if their apartment doors do not self-close/latch.
• Lithium-ion batteries should be charged and stored OUTSIDE where possible. Don't charge overnight, use manufacturer recommended chargers, use only UL-certified devices, don't buy off-market brands, and NEVER repair damaged cells.

DOB's Community Outreach, FDNY's Fire Safety Education, and HPD's Enforcement Units will be holding information sessions and offering building safety presentations at Tenant Association meetings throughout the remaining winter months, in order to communicate these safety tips to the public and spread the word about fire safety.

New Yorkers experiencing a lack of heat in their buildings are encouraged contact their landlord and escalate the issue. If unresponsive, to call 311 to file an official complaint with the city; an HPD inspector will be dispatched to conduct an on-site inspection and issue violations as necessary. 311 can also be used to report any other unsafe or illegal building conditions. For emergency situations, New Yorkers should call 911 for an immediate response. For more information, please visit the Department's website at https://www.fdnysmart.org/