‘Tis the season for widespread power outages, apparently. Chataqua County, New York braced itself for a winter storm, and the local Red Cross chapter told everyone to get ready in the event of a major power blackout situation.
Vince Horrigan, Southwestern New York Chapter executive director, warned residents to use caution when coping with power outages.
“Do not try to heat your home with open flame gas stoves and ensure proper ventilation when using emergency generators,” Horrigan said. “And flashlights are much safer than using candles. If you do use candles, do not leave them unattended and keep them out of the reach of children.”
It’s a good reminder to be thinking about winter time emergency preparedness, before an outage hits your community. Do you have a plan in place to keep yourself and your family warm if the electricity goes out for several days, or even weeks? You can’t fire up a gas-powered generator inside your apartment, so you’d better start thinking about how you’re going to stay warm.
A good plan is always have extra blankets stored in your home for an emergency. Candles and battery-powered light sources are another great idea, and so is having a means of food preparation. (You have plenty of extra non-perishable food stored, right?) A great way to jump-start your preparedness plan is to purchase an emergency supplies kit. Monitor the weather forecasts during the winter months, so you can know when there’s a potentially high danger of a power outage. Oh, and don’t forget to have a non-electrical powered means of entertaining yourself and your family during an outage, such as a deck of cards and plenty of reading material.
Source:
http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/546777.html?nav=5004