Reply To: Blechs: Sakanas Nefashos?

Squeak, fires are dangerous, period. Having to leave a fire burning for 3 days is a risk. Of course one can be careful, but anybody can accidentally move something into the flame without realizing, or something can fall off an upper shelf into the flame, or a piece of paper can be blown into it while people sleep. The flame or blech may just be too hot, and can ignite the walls or shelves near it. I believe this happened recently in one of these cases.

Every house is different, and it is hard to make a safety list that will work for each configuration. Yes, at the minimum we should have safety taught in all the schools and shuls, and perhaps we should have volunteers who are willing to inspect each home before Shabbos and YT to look for any possible hazards. But no matter what we do, it is safer if there is a halachic way to mimimize the amount of time the flame is burning.