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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2005)
Page 12 The INDEPENDENT, December 15, 2005 Heating safety tips for your home, heat it up – don’t burn it down Now that cold weather has arrived, here’s timely advice from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue on how to keep warm and safe. light of a gas furnace. Portable Heaters Furnace Safety • Inspect and clean your fur- nace prior to each heating sea- son. • Follow appliance directions for oiling motors and checking drive belts, replace worn belts as necessary. • If you can’t locate appli- ance instructions or are unsure of how to maintain or service your unit, contact a profession- al furnace service company to assist you. • Periodically inspect and re- place furnace filters to ensure the efficiency of your system. • Keep combustible items such as boxes, flammable liq- uids, newspapers, etc., at least three feet away from the pilot • Use only Underwriters Lab- oratories (UL)-approved port- able heaters and follow the m a n u f a c t u r e r’s operating in- structions. • Never use kerosene, pro- pane, or other outdoor-use heaters indoors. They may start a fire and there is a high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. • Make sure your portable heater has a “tip switch” which automatically shuts off the heater in the event the unit is knocked over. • Many units have exposed surfaces which become very hot. Keep portable heaters at least three feet away from com- bustibles such as bedding, fur- niture, and/or drapes. • Keep children and pets away from all portable heaters. • Never dry clothes or shoes by placing them on top of a heating unit. • Always turn off space heaters when you go to bed or leave the house. • Never use an electric heater near water, such as in a bathroom. • Do not plug other devices into an outlet used by an elec- tric space heater. • Portable heaters are tem- porary heating units for single rooms – don’t try to heat an en- tire house with them. • And finally, don’t go to sleep without turning off your portable heater. Fireplaces and Woodstoves • Make sure your fireplace or woodstove is installed accord- ing to the local building codes and manufacturer’s instruc- tions. • Have your chimney and flue pipes inspected for cracks and cleaned by a professional. Leaks could bring deadly car- bon monoxide fumes into your home. • Install a tight-fitting fire- place screen or place a sturdy screen in front of your fireplace. • Before lighting a fire, make sure the flue is unobstructed and that the damper is open. • Never burn newspapers, wrapping paper, or greenery in a fireplace or woodstove. • Never use gasoline, lighter fluid, or any other petroleum products to start or rekindle a fire. • Burn only dry, seasoned wood in your woodstove or fire- place to prevent the buildup of creosote. • Keep your fire manage- able. A fire that grows too large and hot can cause a chimney fire. • Keep all combustible mate- rials at least three feet away from the fireplace or wood- stove. • Dispose of ashes in a met- al container with a lid and store the container far away from combustibles such as a deck or siding. Keep the ashes in this container for a minimum of five days Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Symptoms of carbon mon- oxide poisoning may include slight headache or dizziness, nausea, drowsiness or euphor- ic feeling, confusion or irritabili- ty, and unconsciousness. Everyone is at risk for car- bon monoxide poisoning, how- e v e r, unborn babies, infants, children, senior citizens, and people with heart or lung prob- lems may be more vulnerable to poisoning. State park passes can be good gift Day-use passes good for 12 months at selected Oregon state parks are now on sale at a $20 holiday discount price. The passes, which normally sell for $25, will be good through December 31, 2006, at the 26 parks that charge the per vehicle day-use fee. Visi- tors without 12-month or 24- month passes must buy a $3 daily pass at those locations. The 12-month and 24-month passes are sold at major Ore- gon Parks and Recreation De- partment (OPRD) offices, all Oregon G.I. Joe’s locations, 30 state park Friends’ group inter- pretive stores, local businesses and chambers of commerce around the state. A list of all the vendors is posted at <http://w w w. o r e g o n s t a t e p a r k s . o r g / d a y u se_permit_vendors.php>. Passes may also be pur- chased by phone and charged to a VISA or MasterCard by calling the State Parks Informa- tion Center, 1-800-551-6949. “The pass makes a great gift – one that keeps on giving all year,” said OPRD Recreation Programs Manager Richard Walkoski. “It provides a great savings for a frequent visitor to our day-use fee parks. It also eliminates the inconvenience of stopping to pay at an en- trance booth or buying a daily permit from a vending ma- chine.” O P R D ’s 24-month pass sells for $40. “That pass has a built-in, year-round discount,” Walkoski noted. Customers may purchase extra vehicle passes at the time they buy either 12-month or 24- month passes (for $5 with a 12- month pass; $10 with a 24- month pass). Extra vehicle passes must be bought at the same time the original passes are purchased.