With skyrocketing utility bills, focus shifts to safe heating

As cash-strapped Bay Staters scramble for cheap ways to heat their homes, the state fire marshal is warning that the national energy crisis could unleash a devastating wave of costly and potentially deadly fires this winter.

Heating-equipment blazes are the second leading cause of residential fires in Massachusetts, accounting for 14,075 fires, 15 civilian deaths, 59 civilian injuries, 117 firefighter injuries and $56 million in damages from 2003 to 2007, according to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System.

Among those casualties were little Rooben and Rebecca Zizi, ages 11 and 9, who were killed last Dec. 29 when a space heater ignited a two-alarm blaze that ripped through their Dorchester home.

Coan is worried skyrocketing energy costs will push residents to the brink this year. To combat the problem, he has convened the state