Summit County Citizens Voice

High country residents can help themselves and others by following a few common sense cold weather tips froom Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue.

Stay safe in the cold!

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — As winter’s snows pile up, the crews at Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue ask that high country residents and visitors alike help keep themselves and others safe with a few tips:

• Adopt a hydrant. With a good snowpack already on the ground and more coming, fire hydrants often get partially or fully buried by plows. Help out the fire crews – and provide a nice community benefit – by digging out fire hydrants in your neighborhood or near your workplace. This can make a critical difference in saving a building. Send us a photo to pio@ldfr.org for our website of you clearing a hydrant, and we’ll give you an LDFR goodie package.

• Install and test carbon-monoxide and smoke detectors. Although most homes now have smoke detectors, few residents remember to test them once a month to ensure that they are working properly. Likewise, carbon-monoxide detectors have been proven to save lives. Put in fresh batteries and check them regularly, particularly if you are using gas- or wood-burning appliances for heat.

• Dig out gas meters and propane-tank valves. If snow piles up next to pipes and fittings, even tiny leaks can build up explosive concentrations and displace air enough to knock you out.

• Slow down and back off. Some people will be surprised to know that the preponderance of our emergency calls are not for fires but for vehicle crashes. Every motorist knows – but it bears repeating – that roads in winter can be exceedingly slick, and markedly slower speeds and significantly greater stopping distances are required. Don’t tailgate; accelerate and decelerate smoothly and gradually; and avoid unpredictable moves. Also remember that what looks like a little water runoff on a sunny day actually can be black ice.

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, seasons Tagged: | Carbon monoxide, Carbon monoxide detector, Carbon monoxide poisoning, Lake Dillon Fire Rescue, Smoke detector, Summit County Colorado, summit county weather, United States, winter weather safety