Today's rainy weather is a good reminder that colder weather is on the way.
And this year with fuel prices so high, residents will be looking for more economic ways to keep warm.
And as NHPR Correspondent Chris Jensen reports, some fire chiefs in The North Country are worried that troubled times are ahead for their departments
RADIO TRANSMISSION - “There is still fire in the building and we have to stretch that attack line down there.”
Some North Country fire chiefs worry they’re going to be hearing that sound far too often this winter.
The problem is that homeowners are expecting the huge price increase for heating oil will bust some family budgets.
But fire officials say that in their quest to find new ways to stay warm, consumers need to be careful.
Littleton fire chief Joseph Mercieri remembers what happened during the fuel crunches in the 80s.
“We saw an increase in residential structure fires because people were trying to use supplemental heating devices, wood stoves, kerosene heaters, electrical supplemental heaters, things of that nature which caused a lot of problems when not properly installed or inspected. We saw a significant rise in structure fires. Unfortunately we are preparing for the same occurrence this year.”
Allan Clark is the fire chief in Sugar Hill.
“People are going to have to keep themselves warm one way or another, so we have already seen a big increase in people using or planning to use wood stoves and wood pellets, some who are not familiar with that method of heating, that creates a danger in itself.”
Both Mercieri and Clark say new devices, like pellet stoves, work fine but they must be installed correctly,
Both recommend asking the local fire department for advice and then getting a safety inspection.
Chief Clark has another concern.
People have learned to reduce heat loss by making their homes more air tight.
But there’s a downside.
Allan Clark: “And although that is a good idea it also raises the probability that if there is any malfunctioning at all of any of their heating equipment, because the house is tight the chance for carbon monoxide poisoning increases dramatically because you don’t have that air exchange that you would normally have.”
That makes having a carbon monoxide detector vital since carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless and deadly.
Smoke detectors do not detect carbon monoxide.
For NHPR News this is Chris Jensen
SOUND OF FIRE BROADCAST TRAILS OFF:
“Lancaster’s ladder is on the scene looking for an assignment and at some point Woodsville is going to stretch a hose line to that other exposure….”
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