Winter weather preparedness By RON DODSON Soon winter snows and the occasional ice storm will be upon us leaving our roads slick and hazardous and many without power and phone service for extended periods of time. Think about that time during this past winter’s snow and ice events when you were stuck in the home for days on end just waiting for the temps to rise and roads to be cleared. What did you need that you did not have in terms of nonperishable food or water? Did you have an adequate means of temporary lighting if your power failed? How about sufficient supplies of blankets and other winter needs? If you plan on burning wood this year, is your flue in good shape and your wood seasoned? Flue fires will likely increase this year as many will be burning “green” wood in an effort to get around high fuel costs. “Green” wood causes creosote to build up in flues causing flue fires which can damage your flue or destroy your home! If you have electric heat in your home, do you have an auxiliary heat source? If so, was everyone informed on the safe use of it and did you have a carbon monoxide tester to tell you if CO levels were getting too high? If there was a small fire in your home, are fire extinguishers handy and would all older family members know how to use them properly? What about basic first aid? Have family members had even basic CPR or first-aid training? Lastly, do you have some means of keeping informed such as portable radios or TVs that work without AC power? If you answered “NO” to any of the above, write down the negatively answered questions and what was missing that made it a “NO” answer. Also list any other problems that you had that did not fit the above questions. What you now have before you is a summary of the success (or failure) of your family’s disaster preparedness efforts for winter weather emergencies. For every “Yes” you gave, congratulate yourself on having been somewhat prepared. For every “No” on your list, consider adding the items you didn’t have to your disaster preparedness supplies. Ice storms are not really any different from snow storms, summer storms, tornadoes or earthquakes in that services and daily conveniences that we take for granted are disrupted for uncertain lengths of time. They do create special problems in that they make driving even more hazardous than in snow. Vehicles do not respond well on ice! Regardless of tire chains or studded tires, ice can severely impair your ability to steer even if you can move. When roads are icy, the best thing to do is to stay off of them. Traffic tie-ups only create more problems and hazards that prevent emergency crews from restoring services, responding to emergency calls and clearing roadways. The issue of heat shelters came up during the last ice storm. In cities, people are concentrated within short distances of many places. Heat shelters can frequently be used in cities during outage situations, as they are often within walking distance of homes. Exposure to the cold is limited and traffic is kept minimal on streets. In rural areas, such as ours, it may be a totally different thing altogether. Here in the country, if roads are nearly impassable from ice or large snowfalls, how are you going to get to a “heat shelter?” Even if a shelter were open, it would more than likely be located several miles from your home. Likewise, what if the “heat shelter” loses its utilities? Not many large buildings in Meade County are equipped with backup power generators. If you are prepared to provide a means of safe, short-term heat in your home while power is off, you eliminate two problems: You are staying off the roadways. (This alone will lessen accident chances!) You are also warming your home, thus preventing plumbing from freezing and bursting if temperatures drop very low. Granted, some of our fire departments MAY be capable of coming to get you if absolutely necessary; however, what if they received a call for a house fire or medical emergency while they are taking you to a shelter? Now, their manpower and emergency equipment is reduced because they are relaying you to a shelter instead of responding to the crisis. Once power is restored, you still have to find a way to get back home and face those water lines broken by freezing up! A little preparedness beforehand can go a long way in an emergency. This brings out the importance of keeping up with current weather forecasts during winter months. Anyone listening to the media or the weather service forecasts know days in advance that these severe weather systems were coming. Once warned, there is plenty of time to acquire any last minute items well before the first of the snow or ice falls. Schedules can also be adjusted and alternate plans made. Meade County Emergency Management Agency has a number of programs that we can bring to your civic, church or other organizations free of charge to help you understand and better prepare before that emergency or disaster strikes. Give us a call at 668-1801 to schedule one. Also see our Web site at http://www.freewebs.com/meadecoema/ for complete information on preparedness planning and related activities in Meade County.
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