SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) —Firefighters have had to deal with bitterly cold weather in addition to their normal duties this past week.

Fire Chief Brandon Blough said when cold weather blows in, people become desperate for ways to survive. 

"When it gets this cold, a lot of times, especially for folks that may be homeless, they are trying to find just ways to stay warm, they go inside different places where they can start fires and stay warm get out of the elements. That usually does occur this time of year, especially when we have a drop in temperatures like this," said Chief Blough. 

The Springfield Fire Department reported 8 structure fires in the last 7 days. Blough said the Department always sees increases in fires like this when it gets colder. 

Chief Blough also said there was evidence of fires being set inside the former Goodwill building, which had a large fire on Christmas Eve. 

"We suspect that that's probably what caused the fire," said Chief Blough. "It's an abandoned building, you know, and we knew that people were in there and it was that cold."

Improper appliance use is another common cause of winter fires.

"Folks at home, they're using space heaters and are using extension cords. Some people are trying to supplement their heat by using their ovens to keep their their homes warm and they're just using things that aren't the way that things are designed to be used to heat their homes and stay warm. So that generally just creates havoc for us." 

Chief Blough recommended reading the instructions for things like heating pads and space heaters before using. Thoroughly inspect each item before plugging it into an outlet and turning it on. 

Copyright 2022. WAND TV. All rights reserved.