City Of Nashua Prepares For Pre-Valentine's Day Snowstorm

NASHUA, NH — Officials in the city of Nashua are actively preparing for the winter weather expected on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

During extremely cold weather, residents should practice cold weather safety by limiting time outdoors and dressing in layers if they need to go outside, watching for signs of hypothermia, and remembering to bring pets indoors.

Resources continue to be in place for persons experiencing homelessness. The following organizations are resources for people to reach out to if they are experiencing homelessness and would like to receive assistance:

• Crisis Assessment & Referral (CAR) - 1-844-800-9911: Monday – Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm
• 211 NH Homeless Resources - dial 2-1-1, available 24/7
• Nashua City Welfare – (603) 589-4555: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.

The following locations are open for warming and sheltering:

• Saint Patrick’s Church Day Café: Monday – Friday, 7 to 9:30 a.m.
• Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter (NSKS) (603) 889-7770: Current hours Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Serve breakfast, Monday – Friday breakfast is 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., dinner is 4 to 6 p.m., Monday – Saturday, and lunch on Sunday is at noon until 1:30 p.m. NSKS has opened a winter overflow shelter, check in is at 2 Quincy St. location as of December 2023.
• Southern NH Rescue Mission (SNHRM): Single male shelter at 40 Chestnut St. Single female shelter at 36 Tolles St. Meals are served at 40 Chestnut St.: breakfast Monday – Friday 7 a.m., Saturday – Sunday 8 a.m.; lunch Monday, Wednesday – Friday noon; dinner Saturday – Sunday 5 p.m.
• Nashua Public Library: open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Friday, open Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
• HEARTS Peer Support - 603-882-8400: Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Stepping Stones Youth Drop-in Center, 603-787-3016: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Pheasant Lane Mall – 310 Daniel Webster Hwy: Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• New Fellowship Baptist Church (NFBC): Located at 50 Ash Street, Open Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to noon and will re-open at 1 to 5 p.m. when the temperature is below 40 degrees.
• Universal Unitarian Church Overnight Warming Station: Located at 58 Lowell St. in Nashua. Open 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. 7 days a week. This is NOT a shelter. This is a warming station for people to come in, sit down, and warm up.

Alternate Heat Source Safety

The City of Nashua Officials urge residents to be vigilant when using alternative heating methods by following these simple safety tips to keep you and your loved ones safe and warm:

Fireplaces, Woodstoves, and other Fuel-fired appliances: Wood stoves, the most popular category of wood-burning heaters, cause thousands of residential fires each year. Be sure to:

• Keep the area around fireplaces and woodstoves clean and free of debris, decorations, and flammable materials.
• ALWAYS use a metal or heat-tempered glass screen with fireplaces.
• Install spark screens and caps on chimneys.
• Install stovepipe thermometers to monitor flue temperatures.
• Keep air inlets open on woodstoves and fireplaces.
• If closed, inlets cause creosote buildup and lead to chimney fires.
• Install wood-burning stoves following manufacturer’s instructions or have a professional do the installation.
• Keep fireplaces and woodstoves clean.
• Have a certified chimney specialist clean annually.
• Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from heating equipment, e.g., the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
• More than half of all home heating fire deaths is the result of combustibles too close to the heat source.

Safely Burn Fuels

• NEVER use flammable liquids to start a fire.
• Use only seasoned wood.
• Certain types of wood, like soft moist wood, increases creosote buildup.
• Build small fires that burn completely and produce less smoke.
• NEVER leave a fire unattended in a fireplace.
• Extinguish fire before leaving the house or going to bed.

When removing fireplace ashes, precautions should be taken to prevent fires or injuries:

• Wear heavy leather gloves when cleaning embers and ashes out of your fireplace or wood burning stove to protect your hands from any hot embers.
• DO NOT place woodstove or fireplace ashes in paper bags or any other combustible container.
• Dispose of embers and ashes in a metal container with a lid. (Remember, ashes can remain hot for several days so they should be stored on a noncombustible surface or spread out on the ground at least 10 feet away from your home and any nearby building or combustible material.)

Portable or Space Heaters: Space heaters account for two of every five home heating fires, in which the majority of those deaths and injuries were caused by heating equipment. Failure to clean the equipment was the leading contributing factor of home fires that involved heating equipment.

Electric Space Heaters

• Buy only heaters with Underwriter's Laboratory (UL) safety listing.
• Be sure it has a thermostat control mechanism and automatically switches off if tipped over.
• ALWAYS unplug when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Avoid using extension cords.
• NEVER use frayed or damaged cords.
• Whether you’re using a stationary or portable heating appliance:
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• NEVER use your oven to heat your home.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off, unplug when leaving the room or going to bed.

The City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services (DPHCS) is the Chief Public Health Strategist for the Greater Nashua Public Health Region, and the first accredited health department in New Hampshire. We provide a range of direct services and engages a variety of partners on strategic initiatives to ensure the health and well-being of every member of our community. Our mission is to promote, protect, and preserve the health and wellbeing of the Greater Nashua Region through leadership and community collaboration. Our vision is to have an informed, safe, healthy, and resilient community where all people can thrive and prosper. As Chief Public Health Strategist, we subscribe to the following values: integrity, leadership, adaptability, and respect.

Submitted by the city of Nashua.