Safe Home Heating Tips

Improper use of portable heating equipment can lead to fire or dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. Take precautions to ensure you are heating your home safely.

Fire Safety

• Use only portable heating equipment that is approved for indoor use.
• Keep combustible materials, including furniture, drapes, and carpeting at least three feet away from the heat source. NEVER drape clothes over a space heater to dry.
• Always keep an eye on heating equipment. Never leave children alone in the room where a space heater is running. Turn it off when you are unable to closely monitor it.
• Be careful not to overload electrical circuits.
• Make sure you have a working smoke detector in every room. Check and change batteries often.

What to Do If You Lose Heat

Every resident is entitled to heat and hot water. Tenants without adequate heat or hot water should first speak with the building owner, manager, or superintendent. If the problem is not corrected, tenants should call 973-266-5320. The Department of Property Maintenance will attempt to contact your building's owner to get heat or hot water service restored.

If you lose heat, take measures to trap existing warm air, and safely stay warm until heat returns:

• Insulate your home as much as possible. Hang blankets over windows and doorways and stay in a well-insulated room while power is out.
• Dress warmly. Wear hats, scarves, gloves, and layered clothing.
• If you have a working fireplace, use it for heat and light, but be sure to keep the damper open for ventilation.
• Open your faucets to a steady drip so pipes do not freeze.
• Eat. Food provides your body with needed energy to produce its own heat and drinking helps your body avoid dehydration.
• If the cold persists and your heat is not restored, call family, neighbors, or friends to see if you can stay with them.

Service Line/Pipes/Water Meters Freezing

• If your service line, pipes or water meters freeze:
• Open a faucet near the frozen point to release vapor from melting ice.
• Direct a hair dryer or heat lamp at the frozen section, or put a small space heater nearby.
• Never thaw a frozen pipe or meter with an open flame; this could lead to fire or cause a steam explosion.
• If your meter is damaged or your pipes burst, call 973-266-5500.

Loss of Power
If you lose power, call your power provider immediately to report the outage.

How To Help Others

• Infants, seniors, and people with paralysis or neuropathy are at increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite. Check on friends, relatives, and neighbors who may need assistance to ensure they are adequately protected from the cold.
• Recognize symptoms of cold weather illnesses such as frostbite and hypothermia.
  
  • Hypothermia symptoms include:
    
    • Confusion
    • Dizziness
    • Shallow breathing
    • Slow, irregular heartbeat
    • Sluggishness
    • Slurred speech
    • Unusual behavior
  • Frostbite symptoms include:
    
    • Gray, white or yellow skin discoloration
    • Numbness
    • Waxy feeling skin
• If you suspect a person is suffering from frostbite or hypothermia, bring him or her someplace warm and seek medical help immediately or call 911.
• If medical help is unavailable, re-warm the person, starting at the core of their body. Warming arms and legs first can increase circulation of cold blood to the heart, which can lead to heart failure. Use a blanket, or if necessary, your own body heat to warm the person.
• Do not give a person suffering frostbite or hypothermia alcohol or caffeine, both of which can worsen the condition. Instead, give the patient a cup of warm broth.

Snow Removal Safety Tips

• Stretch before you go out. If you go out to shovel snow, do a few stretching exercises to warm up your body. This may prevent injury.
• Cover your mouth. Protect your lungs from extremely cold air by covering your mouth when outdoors.
• Avoid overexertion. Cold weather puts an added strain on the heart. Unfamiliar exercise, such as shoveling snow or pushing a car, can bring on a heart attack or make other medical conditions worse. Take frequent rest breaks, and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
• Keep dry. Change wet clothes frequently to prevent a loss of body heat. Wet clothing loses all of its insulating value and transmits heat rapidly.
• Stay safe. Walk carefully on snowy or icy sidewalks. If using a snow-blower, NEVER use your hands to unclog the machine.
• Maintain an awareness of utilities when shoveling snow. Do not cover fire hydrants with snow when clearing sidewalks and driveways. Do not shovel snow into manholes and catch basins.
• Offer to help individuals who require special assistance, including seniors and people with disabilities.

Clearing Snow & Dangling Ice From Roofs

• Snow and rain that collect on roofs become heavy and cause damage to buildings.
• Remove leaves and debris from roof drains to prevent water from collecting.
• In addition to cleaning out gutters, clear snow from roofs and drains.
• Flat roofs require special attention. Snow and water should be removed with drainage systems or manually.

OEM and the Department of Property Maintenance urge building owners and managers to remove ice from their buildings where possible. If ice removal is not possible, building owners and managers should rope off the unsafe area.

Residents should take care to avoid areas roped off due to hazardous ice conditions, and be cautious of dangerous, hanging ice.

Tips for Staying Warm

Exposure to cold can cause life-threatening health conditions. Avoid serious conditions such as frostbite and hypothermia, by keeping warm.

• Wear a hat, hood, or scarf, as most heat is lost through the head.
• Wear layers, as they provide better insulation and warmth.
• Keep fingertips, earlobes, and noses covered if you go outside.
• Keep clothing dry; if a layer becomes wet, remove it.