At Lowe's Hardware at Southridge, Jean Dillion is shopping for a gas heater for her mother's house.

"This is a backup just in case the electric goes off," she said.

Lowe's says typically sales of space heaters spike right after the first cold snap of the season. So do concerns over safety. The National Fire Protection Association says space heaters accounted for three-fourths of home heating related deaths in the U.S. in 2006. The leading cause of home heating fires, items that can burn too close to the heater.

"You have to keep those products away from the heaters," David Lambert said.

Lambert also suggests one important step after someone buys a heater, read the manual.

"That is so important," he said. "Manufacturers make suggestions and we have to follow those guidelines to keep our families safe."