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The Red Cross is hoping the economy and worries about high fuel costs don't translate to more house fires this winter.
We'll pay more in Utah this year for natural gas. Home heating oil in other parts of the country is way up.
"About 80 percent of families are outright admitting that they're worried about the price of heating their homes this winter," said Susan Thomas, spokeswoman for the Greater Salt Lake Area of the American Red Cross.
That has people like Thomas a bit worried that those alternative sources, if used improperly, will cause more house fires. She says local Red Cross officials respond to about 100 such fires every year.
Thomas says space heaters, candles and the like cause 78 percent of all fire-related deaths.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
