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National Grid offers winter-season safety tips

Posted 12/26/10

The winter storm season is here, and National Grid urges its customers to be prepared. The company urges customers to take special precautions when using a portable space heater to keep warm during …

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National Grid offers winter-season safety tips

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The winter storm season is here, and National Grid urges its customers to be prepared.

The company urges customers to take special precautions when using a portable space heater to keep warm during an outage. Some types of kerosene and propane portable space heaters get hot enough to ignite nearby draperies, carpet, paper, clothing or furniture. It’s important to periodically check nearby objects to see if they feel hot. It’s also important to choose a model that has an Underwriters Laboratories label, which means it has passed certain safety tests. If it’s necessary to use a portable space heater, check to make sure it has an automatic shutoff that turns the heater off if it tips over or becomes too hot.

When a portable generator is in use during a power outage, users must make sure the main circuit breaker in the electric service panel box is in the “off” position or, in older electric service panel boxes, that the main fuse block is removed. This is necessary to prevent the generator’s electricity from going back into the power lines in the street, potentially endangering the lives of line crews and other emergency workers. Generator exhaust contains deadly carbon monoxide, so a generator should never be run inside a house.

While St. Lawrence Gas and not National Grid supply most of the natural gas in St. Lawrence County, National Grid, which supplies natural gas elsewhere, has some gas safety tips.

Like any fuel, natural gas is safe when used properly. Natural gas providers add a harmless substance called mercaptan that has a strong odor, similar to that of a rotten egg, to natural gas so it’s easy to tell if there’s a gas leak inside or near a building.

National Grid advises those who suspect a natural gas leak to take the following immediate actions:

• Get Out - All occupants should leave the house immediately. Do not use the telephone, strike a match or switch lights or appliances on or off for any reason.

• Call for Repair – After leaving the building and reaching a safe environment, call the provider.

• Stay Out - Do not go back inside the building until service people tell you it is safe to do so.

Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that can be deadly if left undetected. It is the byproduct of the incomplete burning of fuels such as natural gas, butane, propane, wood, coal, heating oil, kerosene and gasoline. Common sources include malfunctioning forced-air furnaces, kerosene space heaters, natural gas ranges, wood stoves, charcoal grills, motor vehicle engines and fireplaces.

During the heating season when windows and doors are tightly shut, fresh air is sealed out, allowing any carbon monoxide that may be present to build up over time. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to those of the flu. Depending on the amount of carbon monoxide in the air and length of exposure, symptoms may include headaches, weakness, confusion, chest tightness, skin redness, dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, fluttering of the heart or loss of muscle control.

If you suspect carbon monoxide is present in your home, go outside immediately and breathe deeply. If symptoms are severe, get medical attention right away.

In addition, National Grid offers these safety tips during a storm or other emergency event:

• Never touch fallen power lines or anything in contact with fallen wires such as a car, fence or tree.

• If your home is without power and you believe National Grid is not aware of the outage, call the company’s power outage number, 1-800-867-5222.

• Disconnect sensitive appliances such as DVDs, televisions, computers and microwave ovens to avoid potential power surge damage when electricity is restored.

• Turn off any appliances that were on when power went off, but leave one light on so you will know when power is restored.

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut. Food will stay for six to nine hours in a refrigerator without spoiling. Frozen foods will keep for about 24 hours.

• Burn only wood or newspapers in your fireplace.

• For those who have computer access, or who might be monitoring outages for someone else, National Grid provides real-time outage information, and the option to report an outage. That web page is at https://www1.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/YourAccount/MultiLogin.aspx?where=OutageReporting.

When an outage occurs, National Grid crews follow an emergency plan to begin restoring service. Accurate damage surveys, restoration estimates, clearing of damage and repairs are all critical parts of any major weather event. National Grid maintains communication with local public officials and the media throughout restoration efforts.