Be Prepared

Stock a three-to-five-day emergency supply of food and water prior to the onset of a winter storm. Include food that requires no cooking such as canned meats, peanut butter and other non perishables. Be sure to have a manual can opener on hand.

Medicines

• Make sure you have three to five days supply of any necessary medicines.

Heating Fuel

• Keep an adequate supply of heating fuel (firewood, kerosene, etc) at home. Use your fuel sparingly as supplies may be short or unattainable due to hazardous conditions.

Essential Supplies

• Keep a flashlight, battery-powered radio, extra batteries and a first aid kit on hand.

Water Pipes

• Protect water pipes from freezing by wrapping them with insulation or newspaper covered with plastic. In severely cold weather, leave faucets dripping slightly to avoid freezing. If your pipes do freeze, remove the insulation and wrap the pipes in rags. Open every faucet in the house and pour hot water over the rage-wrapped pipes. Also, be sure you know how to shut-off the water supply from your home should water lines break.

Family

• Make sure that every family member knows how to evacuate the house in the event of a fire. Make sure you and your family members designate an outdoor meeting place.

DO NOT

• Heat your home using a charcoal grill, gas grill or camp stove. Grills and camp stoves create deadly carbon monoxide fumes that will build up and create a lethal environment in your home. Always use grills out of doors; and,
  
  Colder temperatures mean a spike in the number of house fires. Someone in the United States dies in a house fire every 2 ½ hours.

  Chimney fires are the leading cause of home-heating fires. Typically they are caused by poorly maintained chimneys where creosote has accumulated.

  Space heaters are involved in 25 percent of home-heating fires but account for 74 percent of the deaths. These involve every type of space-heating equipment – electric heaters, kerosene heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces and gas heaters. Common causes of space-heating home fires include placing space heaters too close to combustibles and fueling errors involving liquid or gas fueled heating equipment.

• Be careful with candles. Power outages, along with colder weather, greatly increase the use of candles in the home. Keep candles away from combustible materials. Never leave children unattended in a room with lit candles. Keep candles, matches and lighters out of the reach of children;
• Inspect fireplaces and wood stoves. Have your chimney connection and flues inspected by a professional and cleaned if necessary prior to the start of every heating season;
• Use a sturdy screen or door in front of your fireplace;
• Burn only wood, never paper, including discarded gift wrap or pine boughs;
• Check smoke detectors;
• Be aware of over-use of electrical outlets. Do not overload electrical outlets and be careful of extension cords that present hazardous walkways; and,
• Have one or more working fire extinguishers in your home. The City of Raleigh Fire Department will provide training on how to use fire extinguishers. Call 919-996-6392 for more information.

Dressing For the Season

Wear multiple layers of thin clothing instead of a single layer of thick clothing. You'll be warmer and you can easily remove layers to remain comfortable.

• Wear a hat; most body heat is lost through the top of the head.
• Mittens are warmer than gloves.
• Cover your mouth with scarves to protect lungs from directly inhaling the extremely cold air.

For winter storm insurance tips, check out the N.C. Department of Insurance web page.