Firefighter Miller and transferred Firefighter Koen
It appears that winter is beginning again. With that, the Beverly Fire Department would strongly encourage people to locate the Fire hydrants near them and make sure that they are properly shoveled out and accessible in case we need them. Beverly Firefighters can be found shoveling hydrants after any significant snowfall but with only 10 firefighters on duty and it is impossible for us to get them all between emergency calls. Clear fast access to a fire hydrant is imperative to putting out a fire. Please help keep your family safe by ensuring the hydrant near your house is shoveled out for firefighters.
Snow and Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is a product of natural combustion. It suffocates its victims by attaching itself to red blood cells more readily than oxygen, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen carried throughout the body. It is odorless and often symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be confused with the flu. If exposed to the gas for too long the victim will lose consciousness and eventually stop breathing. Most commonly, carbon monoxide problems begin with the heating system. Most heating systems vent through a chimney, but newer systems, called direct vent or ventless systems, vent through the side of the house. They are often close enough to the ground that they can be covered up by a sizable snow fall. When those vents are covered, the gases trying to vent to the outside aren’t hot enough to melt away the snow built over it and back up into the house. It is very important to ensure that snow is cleared away to prevent the back up. Another danger lies in the motor vehicle. In recent years people, including one in Beverly, succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning while sitting in a running motor vehicle with a snow covered exhaust pipe. It is very important to clear the snow from the exhaust when you clear the snow from the rest of the vehicle. Just like a blocked heating system vent, the gases from the blocked exhaust will enter the car and act quickly on anyone sitting in the enclosed car. There have also been circumstances in which people have started their cars in the garages attached to their homes. Even though the garage is a separate room, the carbon monoxide will make its way into the main portions of the house and can poison the occupants. Any operating motor vehicles should be outside. The best protection against carbon monoxide in the home is a carbon monoxide detector. The detectors can be purchased in any hardware store and can be of several varieties. They can be battery operated or plugged into an outlet. The detectors can also be built into traditional smoke detectors. Every home should have a carbon monoxide detector adjacent to rooms with heating equipment and on every floor of a home.
