Firefighters Urge Safety During Extremely Cold Temperatures

HUNTERSVILLE, NC – Firefighters say it happens all too often on extremely cold nights – fires caused by people with good intentions, trying to keep themselves and their families warm.

“It’s extremely sad when we go out there and it’s all preventable,” says Bill Suthard, with the Huntersville Fire Department.

“(The) number one cause for home fires is cooking related and heating related is just behind that,” Suthard says. One problem comes from people using alternate sources of heating.

Firefighters say if you use space heaters, you should keep them at least three feet away from anything that can burn. You should also turn them off before you go to bed. And never use an oven to heat your home.

In South Charlotte, people were preparing for cold and potential icy weather at Blackhawk Hardware.
Many told us they plan to cover pipes and drip their faucets tonight to prevent bursts.

They say many times people don’t think about those kinds of problems ahead of time. Another concern is carbon monoxide.

Firefighters say make sure you have a CO detector and that it has fresh batteries. They say to prevent carbon monoxide, clear all debris from dryers, furnaces, and fireplace vents.

Also, open the damper when using a fireplace for ventilation. And if you lose power, don’t use generators or gas and charcoal grills indoors.