Park City Fire Marshal Mike Owens said there are some precautions locals can take to prevent fires during the winter season.
One of the most important things homeowners can do is get their furnace serviced each year.
“Anywhere we have natural gas coming into our house, we have a potential for a leak,” Owens said. “Now that is very rare, the pipes do corrode after time, and you can get these little pinhole leaks, and that allows gas into the house.”
However, Owens said, some safety measures are built into furnaces. For example, he said, sulfur-containing compounds called mercaptans are added to odorless natural gas to produce a detectable, rotten egg smell, which may indicate a leak.
Another winter problem for homeowners, he said, is snow and icicles falling off roofs and breaking gas meters.
“It's important to make sure that your meter is protected, and that's easy to do. You can contact your gas company and they can set you up with some tools to make sure that happens. They can help you get it installed, even,” he said.
Space heaters can also be a problem when temperatures drop and should be kept three to five feet away from anything combustible.
“It's amazing where you find these things, you know?” Owens said. “‘Oh well, we just hide it back behind the curtains and then pull it out and turn it on.’ Well, they can get turned on inadvertently.”
Owens said it’s also a good idea to get rid of old space heaters as they don’t have built-in safety features. Unlike old versions, newer space heaters will turn off when tipped over and don’t put out enough heat to easily catch fire.
Owens also shared some tips to stay safe during the holidays, especially when homes are lit up with decorations and kitchens bubble with festive meals.
Cooks planning to deep fry turkeys, should set up outside and make sure the turkey is completely dry.
“When you have a turkey that's a little bit wet or has moisture on the outside or inside of it, then that moisture, that water, it evaporates incredibly quickly,” Owens said. “So one drop of water can expand to about 1,700 times its size in steam. If you have a bunch of drops of water on your turkey, you drop it in this hot, boiling oil that water flashes and causes the oil to go up at a tremendously magnificent display and then light your deck on fire.”
Families should also beware when stringing decorative lights together. Even though LED lights aren’t as hot as other lights, they can still pose risks.
“You have to be really careful how many strings of lights you tie into one plug,” Owens said. “They are only designed to handle between four and five sets of lights per string.”
Owens said locals can also help fire crews by shoveling around fire hydrants. In the event of a fire, crews need three feet of space around it to effectively fight the fire.
“We have had fires that our efforts getting water on the fire is delayed because we have to dig out the fire hydrant first,” he said. “Get with your neighbors, set up a schedule where you do it one time your neighbor does it the next time.”
Fire hydrants should also have flags on them so they can be located even in deep snow.
Find a link for more fire safety information here.
