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An estimated 226,000 people are ‘unsheltered’ in America, sleeping in cars, tents or abandoned buildings, and burning any flammable material they can find to keep warm. These fires can produce toxic fumes and fire accidents in tents. Portland-based collective, HeaterBloc, has designed a tent-safe DIY heater, a mason jar filled with isopropyl alcohol (aka, “rubbing alcohol”) and copper tubing. When lighted, the alcohol burns very cleanly, making it safe to use indoors or in a small space, such as a tent. An inverted terracotta pot over the jar, provides steady heat. The parts for each DIY heater cost about $7. A 6–8-ounce jar of isopropyl alcohol burns for about 5 to 6 hours and costs less than $1. Though this is definitely a cost-effective, life-saving device, the Collective’s “desire would be that HeaterBloc would no longer be a need. Society would accept and care for all of its members, acknowledging that housing is a human right rather than just a luxury.”
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