This could save your life!

[djf]

Here near Seattle, the temps have PLUNGED!

I know, I know, alot of folks will say "Well, it's way colder up here in Fargo"... that not my point.

The cold weather has brought a spate, actually, quite a spike of house fires.

Overheated extension cords. Candles. Using portable space heaters too close to flammable materials.

I personally have a pellet stove, that does a respectable job of keeping the living room/kitchen area of my house liveable, even comfortable.

The cold is expected to move east.

Do this. Do it NOW!!!

GET/CHECK your smoke alarm(s)!!!!

If you have combustibles warming your home, it doesn't hurt a tad to GET A CO DETECTOR also!!

And I know that these days, times of tight budgets, it might seem unfeasible but have the kids dig under the couch and GET A HOME/PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER. Total cost, probably about twenty bucks.

OVER AND OUT!!

;-)

[Democrat_media]

but the scientists, government and news media have been telling us for 30 years that we are causing global warming. it shouldn't be this cold before Winter even starts.shouldn't we have had some global warming by now? the gov funded scientists and news media and politicians wouldn't lie to us all these years would they ? YES they would and did. there is no global warming. this proves government/socialism can never work. gov and the news media are corrupt and cannot be trusted but democrat voters do trust them

[ChildOfThe60s]

Here in central KY the temps are expected to drop 30 degrees from this morning to this evening. But the severe temps won’t be here for several days. Ice is going to be the danger tomorrow.

[djf]

Lows here in the upper teens, highs right about exactly at freezing.
Cold, clear, and very, very dry.
Possible single digit temps over the weekend.

And I know there are places way colder - heck, I grew up in upstate NY where that 3rd week in January is totally brutal and unforgiving.

But this is about simple things that can save your life. One of the fires here lately was because a child, without his parents knowing, had lit a candle on his bed...

Sad. And I am certain most FReepers have more sense.
But it NEVER hurts to check, and then check again!

[Star Traveler]

It’s already dropping in Tulsa, OK. AND ... I saw the first sign of the coming snow ... a few snow pellets coming down. In a few hours from now, it’s supposed to really be coming down!

[Nervous Tick]

>> GET/CHECK your smoke alarm(s)!!!!

Thanks for the reminder, FRiend. I’ve got one that’s been boots-up on the counter for a couple months, battery removed, waiting for a replacement... I’ll go find one now.

[ChildOfThe60s]

A few years ago when the big ice storm came through here & we lost power for several days, I took food out of the freezer and put it outside to stay frozen. LOL.

Had to stand in the snow to cook dinner on my gas grill.

[djf]

And another thing I should point out is there have been a couple news stories lately about -

people calling the furnace repair joints and haveing to wait a couple days.

These guys, the furnace repair folks, are b*lls to the wall for one simple reason:

The people never thought about checking and repairing their furnace when it was 65 degrees out!

If the cold hasn’t hit you yet, it might be a good idea to check your furnace NOW while you still have time, before the rush!

It would be a better idea if you had checked it back in August, but hey, hindsight is 20/20!!

[djf]

I fried a steak the other night and accidentally left the burner on low, so my alarm not-so-nicely reminded me of that fact.

I should check into battery powered smoke alarms. Mine (I have 2) run off of house current. But a hidden fire could easily knock out the power before the smoke had spread much.

Looks like I need to check it out when I head to Home Depot in the next couple days...

[cherry]

about 4 degrees outside now....

[JoeFromSidney]

When I was growing up there were fires every winter caused by people cranking up their kerosene stoves until the chimney got red hot and started the wood burning where the chimney went through the outside wall. "Tarpaper shacks," we called them, and once they caught, they burned quickly.

[djf]

We had a coal stove! The bottom of that stove would get redder than Rudolphs nose!

Man, that sucker could kick out the heat.

House eventually burned down, but not because of the stove - an electrical short.

Sad. It was a beat up farmhouse, but had been built in the 1870’s

[Axenolith]

I always would find these funny mini cheese grater thingies on demolition sites when I am detecting, and odd, ridged, 3 sided tapering doodads. Sometimes they had wires, bare or asbestos coated coming out. Finally found one together and noodled out that they are the connectors/splices for bare wire electric systems from the earliest setups.

I still occasionally see old places with the bare wire installed and wrapped around insulators nailed strategically for making corners or penetrations (usually in basements and usually just left in after a rewire, for nostalgia?). Never saw the connectors in those settings though...

[bgill]

Yesterday, it was in the 80s in central TX. We may be waking up to snow and ice in the morning. From the 10 day forecasts, the cold is here to stay with lows in the 20s.

[nascarnation]

You’re not paying attention.
Global warming has been replaced by climate change in the MSM lingo.
Now ANY unusual weather event is caused by climate change.

The Weather Channel attributed this year’s meager hurricane season to hot dry flow off the African coast due to climate change.

[I want the USA back]

CO detectors are real inexpensive. Got one at Amazon.com.

[CurlyDave]

Now ANY unusual weather event is caused by climate change.

But even with fewer of them than usual, any storm that causes more than $10 in damage is caused by that same climate change.

[ChildOfThe60s]

any storm that causes more than $10 in damage is caused by that same climate change.

Anytime I smell human sourced methane, I assume there is a liberal nearby bloviating.

[Democrat_media]

the news media did fool democrat voters by renaming “global warming” to “climate change”.

but we need to call them out on that they all did cry “GLOBAL WARMING!” for the past 30 years and only recently since they know it's not getting warmer did they rename it “climate change”. but you are right that spin does fool most people including 99% of the democrat voters. by “they “ I mean the news media, government , scientists, UN, etc. who are all liars and have been lying for 30 years crying “global warming”

[Democrat_media]

News media reporter giving a news report:

“This storm it's a super storm . we are naming all storms , even a strong wind. this storm will cause SNOW and RAIN and WIND. this has never happened on Earth before. it's all because of global warming , I mean Climate change caused by evil capitalism and evil big oil companies. how can you drive your suv and use those lightbulbs you are killing children by causing these storms all over the planet. forget that massive Star in the center of the Solar system in which 1 million planet Earths could fit into, forget the Sun that could never affect the Earth's climate. it's capitalism(oil,coal, cars, energy use) that is causing any problem including global warming and climate change that will destroy the planet. what a coincidence that what we socialists hate capitalism( CO2) is what destroys the planet and causes storms. but we are not socialists/democrats posing as news reporters, we are reporting news not propaganda and all democrat voters think what we report is news and the truth, now back to 24/7 newtown coverage and 24/7 trayvon coverage.”