Cold weather safety tips

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – On Thursday, the Chattanooga Fire Department had at least two calls on the same issue.

The problem was pipes that froze, broke, and caused water to leak.

“Frozen pipes is a real concern you want to make sure that you’re wrapping any outside pipes or faucets.  Cover those faucets maybe with a sock or you can buy Styrofoam covers from the store to cover those with,” Chattanooga Fire Captain Dennis Witt said.  “Leave your faucets dripping or just slightly running during these cold temperatures will help keep them from freezing.”

Captain Witt addressed other cold weather issues with a few tips.

Lower temperatures can put folks at a higher risk of hypothermia.

If you know someone who is elderly, you may want to regularly check on them to make sure they’re staying warm.

Also, make sure kids have on the proper clothing.

“Children like to go outside to play get hot and sweaty may not be dressed appropriately while they’re playing and then when they kind of stop playing and start resting outside they may be more susceptible to colder weather due to the lack of clothing while they were playing,” Captain Witt said.

Don’t forget about the pets.

It’s best to bring them inside or at least make sure they have shelter that’s warm enough for them to stay in.

“One thing that most people forget about is their water.  Their water will freeze, and if it freezes then they have no water to drink.  So you wanna just make sure you’re dumping out that old water more regularly or the ice actually and filling it up with drinkable water,” Captain Witt said.

It’s not uncommon for more fires to break out this time of year because of space heaters.

Captain Witt added to help prevent a bad situation remember to keep all things at least three feet away from the heater.