Underwriters Laboratories

Question: We have a persistent leak in our roof by the chimney. This leak is causing water damage to the ceiling by the fireplace in our living room. My husband's efforts to tar the edges between the roof and chimney help for a while but don't correct the problem. We replaced the roof, but that made no difference. Will a "saddle" from the roof to the chimney help? Our chimney is 4 feet wide. Answer: A "cricket" (also called a saddle) should solve the problem.

The table in the offices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was piled high with purses, electrical appliances, gleaming watches and popular video games -- a holiday gift jackpot. But the merchandise wasn't for sale.

After a fire ignited by Christmas lights gutted a Rossmoor garage, destroying precious family photos and memorabilia, fire investigators Thursday urged Orange County residents to prevent similar accidents this holiday season. The fire that began Wednesday night in a garage on Woodstock Road was ignited by a spark from a long string of holiday lights that were spliced together, something firefighters warned should never be done.

When firefighters sing "you'd better watch out" during the holiday season, the message is usually about Christmas trees, not Santa Claus. Cheery Yule trees can turn into deadly firebombs. Firefighters pointed Tuesday to a $70,000 blaze in Anaheim as a grim case in point. On Monday night, a Christmas tree burst into flames in a condo at 1676 Heritage Circle. The residents escaped serious harm, but the 7:42 p.m.

A fire sparked by a small electric heater gutted a Newbury Park trailer last January, causing about $36,000 in damage. Several months earlier a space heater ignited vapors from gasoline used to clean auto parts in a Northridge garage. Two men were severely burned. The accidents illustrate the dangers of portable electric heaters as use increases during winter. Home heating equipment caused an estimated 85,200 fires nationally in 1991, the last year for which figures are available.

The thick fog that has blanketed parts of Southern California for more than a month has triggered more than 3,300 nuisance alarms from increasingly popular carbon monoxide detectors--a wave of alerts that has sent some homeowners into a panic and flooded the gas company with service calls.

QUESTION: We have a persistent leak in our roof, near the chimney. This leak is causing water damage to the ceiling by the fireplace in our living room. My husband's efforts to tar the edges between the roof and chimney help for a while but don't correct the problem. We replaced the roof but that made no difference. Will a "saddle" from the roof to the chimney help? Our chimney is 4 feet wide. ANSWER: A cricket (also called a saddle) should solve the problem.

Question: I think there is a widespread problem that might be worth your attention. We recently purchased a Black & Decker toaster oven equipped with a 20-inch cord. It is hard to imagine what executive decreed that a toaster must be used within 20 inches of an electrical outlet, but he must live in a different house than most of us.

According to the National Fire Protection Assn., nearly 5,000 people in North America die in fires each year in the place they feel safest--their home. There are four steps to fire safety: reducing fire hazards, installing smoke detectors, devising an escape plan and learning how to escape a fire. Preventing Hazards * Smokers must use extreme caution. Extinguish smoking materials in large, heavy ashtrays. Never smoke in bed.

U.S. and European officials took a step forward Friday in their efforts to harmonize the dizzying array of product regulations, standards and testing procedures that manufacturers face as they attempt to market their products globally. After their third meeting in two years, U.S.