Can A Space Heater Actually Start A Fire?

“ I’ll be gone for two hours”...... “alright guys it’s been three days”

I've fought many fires as a fireman caused by space heaters. There are so many variables to it. Bad wiring, grease in a kitchen, work rags with grease or fuel on them, dry paper, dirty dusty heater elements, something spilled, etc.

Tyler: "2 inches maybe 3 inches away" Everyone who watched the video: ...... "Maybe one inch"

Fire extinguisher: Not present Lighter fluid: A few feet away Wooden garage: fully exposed yep, its fire time

I've gotta say, as a fireman, space heaters do cause fires. We just had one here locally from one that tipped over and the tip safety switch didn't shut it off! It was a cheap $20 one from Walmart

The cinder blocks are stealing a lot of the heat. I wish you would had those cloth pieces hanging like from a bar or something to resemble a curtain hanging. Maybe just throw the blanket on the heaters

29:32 had me in stitches. Tyler: don’t know why I’m taking a temperature, it’s on fire.

I do believe that the cinder blocks were acting as a heat sync or whatever. It’s not allowing the towel and blanket to heat up bc it is absorbing the heat

I love how the video just turns into Tyler desperately trying to start a fire.

From dealing with space heaters myself, the reason why they say no extension wires is because the plug can get absurdly hot, and needs the open air to cool it. If anything happens to sit on top of that plug (maybe say a blanket by accident) it will 100% catch fire after so long; I accidentally did this and almost caused a fire, the plug melted and slightly scorched the blanket. I learned to respect these things real quick.

Tyler: Let’s set stuff on fire Cinder blocks: Nah brah

Hi Tyler, I’ve been watching your videos for a long time now. I enjoy your content and appreciate the tests that you perform. With this test, I wanted to share my perspective. As you said, fires could happen but the conditions have to be right. I was a first responder and firefighter for 13 years. I’ve had several calls involving space heaters. One of the worst calls I was ever on involved 3 children trapped in a house. Upon arriving on scene, 2 homes were on fire and a vehicle as the fire had spread. We heard the children screaming and was able to get the oldest out of the house, his body was burned over 85%. The other 2 children became silent, we called out to them many times while inside of the burning home. We found them under their bed deceased...ages 3 and 13 months. The cause of the fire was a blanket falling off the bed onto the space heater. Parents left the oldest in charge and he went to sleep in the living room. The space heater was a 60’s-70’s era toastmaster brand. After investigation, it’s believed that the blanket fell onto one of the elements as the safety grating was more open on the older models. Maybe something you could test in the future? I just wanted to share that story so that people still take precautions when using these heaters, especially with older models.

I am no expert but i would like to see you do these experiments again and remove the cement blocks and hang the cloths up like a curtain. You didn't allow any air flow between the heater and fabric because the cement is too close.

Well here’s Tyler risking his whole neighborhood for a YouTube video.

I started a fire with my space heater when I was younger. I got curious as to how hot it really was and touched a piece of paper to the coil. Burned my rug, set off the fire alarm, and stomped it out before any got to the room. Luckily the paper all burned up and I just said it fell over.

nobody: Tyler: temperature scans a burning object Tyler: 500 degrees..

Tyler is teaching us how to successfully pull off insurance fraud. 😂

I got soooooo stressed out when he kept putting his hands over the cord saying "it could catch on fire any minute" like back up my man 😂

This video makes me feel stupid that I managed to get pants THAT I WAS WEARING to catch fire from a space heater 💀

Well that does it I’m no longer wrapping my extensions cords in towels 😂