NC Winter Weather Preparedness Week topic 5: home heating safety

November 30, 9:10 AMCoastal Carolina Weather ExaminerGannon Medwick

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NC Winter Weather Preparedness Week runs from 11 / 29 through 12 / 5.

North Carolina Winter Weather Preparedness Week runs from November 29 through December 5. Topic 5 is home heating safety. The following National Weather Service statement has been only slightly modified by me:

1) MAKE SURE ALL SMOKE DETECTORS ARE WORKING PROPERLY AND HAVE FRESH BATTERIES.

2) BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WITH CANDLES. WINTER STORMS AND POWER OUTAGES FURTHER INCREASES THE USE OF CANDLES AND OIL LAMPS IN THE HOME. KEEP CANDLES AWAY FROM COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS. NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN UNATTENDED IN A ROOM WITH LIT CANDLES. KEEP CANDLES, MATCHES AND LIGHTERS OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.

3) INSPECT FIREPLACES AND WOOD STOVES. HAVE YOUR CHIMNEY CONNECTIONS AND FLUES INSPECTED BY A PROFESSIONAL AND CLEANED IF NECESSARY PRIOR TO THE START OF EVERY HEATING SEASON.

4) USE A STURDY SCREEN OR DOOR IN FRONT OF YOUR FIREPLACE WHEN BURNING FIRES.

5) BURN ONLY WOOD, NEVER BURN PAPER - INCLUDING DISCARDED GIFT WRAP - OR PINE BOUGHS.

6) DO NOT HANG HOLIDAY DECORATIONS FROM OR ON YOUR FIREPLACE IF YOU PLAN TO USE IT AS A HEAT SOURCE.

7) BE AWARE OF OVERUSE OF ELECTRICAL OUTLETS - DON'T OVERLOAD YOUR ELECTRICAL OUTLETS AND BE CAREFUL OF EXTENSION CORDS THAT PRESENT HAZARDOUS WALKWAYS.

8) HAVE ONE OR MORE WORKING FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IN YOUR HOME. MOST FIRE DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE TRAINING ON HOW TO USE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.

For updated forecasts for eastern North Carolina, visit the wnct.com Storm Team 9 weather page.