Winter Storm Fire Safety

During the approaching winter storm, Haddam Volunteer Fire Department reminds residents to:

• Stay indoors. Avoid going outside until the storm lets up late Tuesday morning. Drive ONLY if absolutely necessary, in which case let someone know your destination, route and expected arrival so that emergency vehicles can find you if you get stuck. Before venturing out, make sure your car has emergency supplies, including sand, shovel, flares, booster cables, rope, ice scraper, portable radio, flashlight, blankets and extra warm clothes.

• If you see downed electrical wires, call CL&P (800-286-2000) to report them. Do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.

• Should you lose power and need to use alternative heaters such as fireplaces, wood stoves and space heaters, maintain ventilation to avoid the build-up of carbon monoxide and toxic fumes. Refuel kerosene heaters outside and keep them at least three feet from flammable objects.

• NEVER use liquid fuel to start the fire in a fireplace or wood-burning stove.

• Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms before fuel-fired auxiliary heaters or lanterns are used.

• If your heating system vents to the outside, periodically check to make sure snowdrifts haven’t blocked the vent.

• Use a flashlight – not a candle – for emergency lighting.

• Should power goes out, smoke alarms dependent on your home’s electrical service may not work. Check to see if your smoke alarm uses a back-up battery and install a new battery if needed. Also, disconnect or turn off appliances that would otherwise turn on automatically when service is restored. If several appliances start up at once, the electric circuits may overload.

• NEVER run generators indoors. If you use a generator, do not exceed its rated capacity. Most small, home-use portable generators produce 350 to 12,000 watts of power. Overloading your generator can damage it and the appliances connected to it, and may cause a fire.

• NEVER use charcoal to cook indoors or the kitchen oven range to heat your home. Toxic fumes can quickly overwhelm you.

• As the storm heightens, try to maintain a means of egress in case you need to get out quickly, like clearing the snow immediately around doorways.

• When clearing snow, help keep any water standpipes in your area clear of snow, ice and debris for easy fire department access.

Thanks for keeping fire safety in mind during the storm.

Stay Safe!

Do You Have What It Takes? Find more information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved at our website www.HaddamFire.com, or connect with us on Facebook.