As we approach the time of year when many of us spend more time at home with family and loved ones, enjoying holiday meals and celebrations, UGI is offering energy-related safety reminders. These simple tips can help protect your family.
More time in the kitchen means more fire dangers. According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving is the nation’s leading day for cooking fires. Keep flammable items away from stove burners and hot surfaces. Also, clean-up to prevent grease build-up. And make sure you have working smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher readily available.
If your menu includes a fried turkey, make it delicious not dangerous. Always thaw a turkey before you fry it, keeping the fryer at least 10 feet from your home or garage, keeping children and pets away, and never leave a frying turkey unattended.
More people equal more noses, and if you smell gas, act fast! An odorant that smells like rotten eggs is added to otherwise odorless natural gas. If you smell natural gas, leave your home immediately, taking everyone with you and leaving the door open. Do not use a phone, light a match, or switch anything on or off. Move at least 100 yards away, the length of a football field, where the odor is no longer present. Dial 911 or call UGI from your cell phone or a neighbor’s phone. As an added precaution, methane/natural gas detectors are available at most local hardware stores.
Make carbon monoxide exposure prevention a priority. Carbon Monoxide is odorless and colorless but toxic and potentially deadly. Install a carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home. Carbon Monoxide build-up is often caused by malfunctioning heating systems or appliances. Be sure to have your heating system professionally serviced every year, rely on the experts to repair faulty appliances, and don’t forget to turn off your gas stove when you are done cooking.
Avoid decorating dangers. Make sure Christmas trees, gifts, decorations and discarded bags, boxes and wrapping paper are kept away from fireplaces, radiators, and other heating sources. Turn off tree lights and lit decorations when you go to bed or leave the house. If you have a live tree, make sure it is watered every day. Also, discard any lights that are damaged or show excessive wear. Consider replacing old lights with newer LED ones that can save energy. Never exceed the maximum number of strings or devices that may be linked together, as indicated on decoration packaging. Do not run extension cords through windows or garage doors. Do not string a series of extension cords together. And unplug extension cords when not in use.
Additional safety tips are available on UGI’s website at www.ugi.com/safety.
UGI Utilities is a natural gas and electric utility with headquarters in Denver, Pennsylvania. UGI serves more than 730,000 customers in 45 Pennsylvania counties and one county in Maryland. Customers and community members are invited to visit the UGI website at www.ugi.com; our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ugiutilities; or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ugi_utilities.