Editorial
Winter is here, so be safe

As it seems that winter has arrived with a bang of cold weather and ice, Townsend officials made a good decision out of a bad circumstance.

Many of the residents of Timberlee Park area of town were without power for much of the day Tuesday including the overnight hours of bitterly cold weather that welcomed in Wednesday. So, town officials took the extra step to protect their residents and the community from dangers by opening up a shelter at Hawthorne Brook Middle School.

They invited all residents affected by the power outages to come to the school.

Residents were told to bring medicines and other necessities, but that heat, running water, toilets and cots with blankets would be provided.

For those of you returning to your homes or looking ahead to the possibility of more power outages, we can pass along several important notifications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

- If the power is out for less than two hours, then the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be safe to consume. If the power is out for longer than two hours, a freezer that is half full will hold food safely for up to 24 hours. A full freezer will hold food safely for 48 hours. Do not open the freezer door if you can avoid it. Place milk, other dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, gravy and spoilable leftovers into a cooler surrounded by ice. Styrofoam coolers are fine for this purpose.

- Regarding carbon monoxide exposure, state law requires all households in Massachusetts that burn fossil fuel to have a carbon monoxide detector, but short of that the CDC issues several warnings. Don't run your car inside the garage to warm up, especially if the garage is attached to the house. This holds true even if you leave the garage open.

The CDC also warns not to heat your house with a gas oven and not to burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isn't vented.

The CDC recommends that you have your heating system inspected every year, along with your water heater and other gas, oil and coal-burning appliances.

Just a few minor steps can increase your level of safety during severe weather. For more, visit www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/ guide.asp.