SAFETY TIPS FOR SPACE HEATERS

With the frigid temperatures here and staying for a while, please be careful with space heaters. Review these safety tips from the NFPA: Portable electric space heaters •Turn heaters off when you go to bed or leave the room. •Use and purchase portable space heaters with an automatic shut off so if they’re tipped over they will shut off. •Place space heater on solid, flat surface. •Plug power cords directly into outlets and never into an extension cord. •Inspect for cracked or damaged, broken plugs or loose connections. Replace before using.

Fuel burning space heaters •Always use the proper fuel as specified by the manufacturer. •When refueling, allow the appliance to cool and refuel outside or in a well-ventilated area. •When using the heater, open a window to ensure proper ventilation. •In portable kerosene or other liquid-fueled space heaters, always use the proper grade of the proper fuel. •All new unvented gas-fired space heaters have an oxygen depletion sensor that detects a reduced level of oxygen in the area where the heater is operating and shuts off the heater before a hazardous level of carbon monoxide accumulates. If you have an older heater without this feature, replace it. •If the pilot light of your gas heater goes out, allow 5 minutes or more for the gas to go away before trying again, do not allow gas to accumulate, and light the match before you turn on the gas to the pilot to avoid risk of flashback. •If you smell gas in your gas heater, do not attempt to light the appliance. Turn off all the controls and open doors and window. Call a gas service person.

BUSY NIGHT FOR TRI-MOUNTAIN AREA OF OUR DISPATCH CENTER

There were 2 second alarm fires over night in the Tri-Mountain area. The first fire was called in at 21:56 in Winhall for the Winhall Town Garage at 58 Old Town Rd. The other second alarm fire was called in at 00:21 in Weston at 147 Felton Rd. for a house fire. Dispatchers on duty were Lt. David Whipple and Dispatcher Jay French.

IT DOES NOT HAPPEN VERY OFTEN

For 5 hours this evening there is 81 years of combined years of service working the board here at Fire Mutual Aid. Lt. Ed Mattson, Lt. David Whipple and Lt. Tom Redin. The three rarely work together given the rank structure in place. It is also very rare in any dispatch center in this country to have that many years of service between 3 different people working at the same time.

A BUSY FIRST 12 DAYS OF 2014

The first 12 days of 2014 have been busy here at the Dispatch Center. A total of 720 calls have been dispatched with 19 First Alarms dispatched that turned into 8 confirmed fires in a building ranging from a 1st alarm response to a 3rd alarm response and in most cases extra companies were sent on the request of the incident commander or due to the extreme cold. The eight confirmed fires occurred in New Ipswich, Walpole, Newbrook, Marlow, Dummerston (2 fatalities), Westminster, Temple and Wardsboro.

BRATTLEBORO FD JOB OPENING

THE BRATTLEBORO Fire Department is accepting applications for the position of full time entry level Firefighter. Details, a job description and applications can be obtained at www.brattleboro.org or www.brattleborofire.org Application closing date is January 16, 2014 at 4pm. The Town of Brattleboro is an Equal Opportunity Employer.