Tips to keep yourself, home safe this winter

Tips to keep yourself, home safe this winter

(Dasha Petrenko/Shutterstock)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — With the arrival of winter weather in Utah, safety experts are offering tips to help mitigate some of the dangers unique to the season.

Reports of fires and other emergency calls increase for Utah fire departments during the winter months, said State Fire Marshal Coy Porter. That's simply because people spend more time indoors and use more potentially dangerous items.

The colder, shorter days also means changes in driving conditions that leads to more crashes, according to Mike Mower, traffic records program manager with the Utah Department of Public Safety.

But experts all agree that many wintertime dangers can be mitigated with preparation and vigilance.

House fires

Porter advises people to use common sense during the holidays to keep homes safe from fires.

The most common cause of house fires is unattended cooking, he said. While unattended cooking is the leading cause of house fires year round, it increases sharply during the holidays when people are often cooking and baking more.

"We always tell people to keep a utensil in their hand so if they leave to go take care of a distraction, they can look down at their hand and remember that they are cooking," Porter said.

"It takes only one time to be inattentive or do something silly. Later on most people say, 'I just can't believe I did that.'"

Porter also noted that modern house fires are more dangerous than house fires in the past.

According to Porter and studies by the Underwriters Laboratory, modern homes burn eight times faster than homes built between the 1950s and 1970s.

"Think about your grandmother's house," Porter said. "The carpeting was probably wool, the cabinets were probably metal or hard wood. We've basically filled our homes with petrochemical based products, which burn hotter and faster when they are ignited."

He also noted that modern homes tend to retain heat, which can make fires hotter and burn faster.

Winter driving

Photo: Lukas Gojda/Shutterstock
Photo: Lukas Gojda/Shutterstock

While there are more traffic accidents during the winter, the severity of those crashes generally decreases, Mower said.

"Usually people are driving slow and getting in more crashes because they don't have enough following distance, so there are more rear-ending crashes," he said.

Rain, snow and ice on the road combined with the shorter days can make driving conditions difficult. In 2013, there were 13,581 vehicle accidents that listed inclement weather as a factor.

He said increasing following distance, decreasing speed and properly maintaining a vehicle — specifically tires, heater systems, lights — are keys to safer travels on winter roads.

"You have to do everything a little bit slower," Mower said. "When you hit your brakes, if the road is icy or wet you will slide or whip. You need to give enough time to brake slower and not turn in fast movements."

Mower advised this change in behavior, even for drivers of cars with four-wheel drive.

He also noted that clearing snow off the hood, roof and trunk of a car will keep that snow from blowing onto a windshield while driving, or onto the windshields of other cars.

Additional information about winter driving safety, including safety around snow plows, can be found at highwaysafety.utah.gov.

Maintain furnaces

Photo: BKMCphotography/Shutterstock
Photo: BKMCphotography/Shutterstock

Questar spokesman Darren Shepherd said gas furnaces need to be properly maintained. Both he and Porter noted that the No. 1 key to furnace safety is to have a professional service the furnace — or other heat source — at least once a year.

"Lots of thing happen when a furnace just isn't operating for that period of time" over summer and fall, Shepherd said. Regular maintenance can also make furnaces more efficient.

Proper airflow, he said, is paramount. Carbon monoxide, the deadly byproduct of burning any material, builds up when air supply to the burning gas and air flow for exhaust is restricted by dirty or improperly enclosed furnaces.

Homeowners who wish to finish basements with furnace or utility rooms in them need to take extra care to follow code to keep their homes safe, Shepherd warned.

"If that flame is burning and it's not able to get the air it needs because you've closed it off, it will begin to reach up the plough to get the air from the outside," Shepherd said of enclosing furnaces. "You have restricted your ability to vent (carbon monoxide) out and it can mix with the air going into your home."

Homeowners can also help ensure proper ventilation and mitigate accidents by not storing anything in a utility closet, not storing flammable materials near heat sources, and making sure gas meters and intakes/exhaust ports are clear of any blockage.

Electricity

Photo: Gina Jacobs/Shutterstock
Photo: Gina Jacobs/Shutterstock

Rocky Mountain Power spokeswoman Margaret Oler said there is a greater possibility of outages and downed power lines during the winter.

"Stay away!" she warned. "Do not go near that downed power line because it is impossible to tell if that power line is energized or not by looking at it."

Preparing winter specific power-outage preparedness kits, and being prepared in general, can really help during power outages. She recommends that such kits include batteries, flashlights, hats and nonperishable food for starters.

Oler noted that the use of any electrical device is only safe if it is used within a manufacturer's specifications, such as using only outdoor Christmas lights for exterior decorations, using lighting properly and not overloading power outlets.

She also advises the use of power strips with built-in safety features such as circuit breakers for any single power outlet to supply multiple items.

Generators can be a good backup source for power, but Older warns that they need to be inspected by a professional to ensure the optimal and safest use around homes.

Additional information for preparing for power outages can be found on the Rocky Mountain Power website at rockymountainpower.net.

Customer feedback during power outages is vital to figuring out the extent of outages and communicating information — like the progress of restoration — back to those effected. This can accelerate restoration of power and find areas that might be missed by the company.


Chris Larson is a BYU news media major interning with Deseret News. Contact him at chlarson@deseretnews.com

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Chris Larson

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast