January – March 2012
Emergency
Heating
Coal stores well if kept
in a dark place and away
from moving air. Air speeds
deterioration and
breakdown, causing it to burn more
rapidly.
Coal may be stored in a plastic-lined
pit or in
sheds, bags, boxes, or barrels and
should be
kept away from circulating air, light,
and
moisture. Cover it to lend protection
from
weather and sun.
Wood. Hardwoods such as
apple, cherry, and
other fruit woods are slow burning and
sustain
coals. Hardwoods are more difficult to
burn
than softer woods, thus requiring a
supply of
kindling. Soft woods such as pine and
cedar are
light in weight and burn very rapidly,
leaving ash
and few coals for cooking. If you have
a
fireplace or a wood/coal burning
stove, you will
want to store several cords of
firewood.
Firewood is usually sold by the cord which is a
neat pile that totals 128 cubic feet.
This pile is
four feet wide, four feet high, and
eight feet
long. Some dealers sell wood by the ton.
As a
general rule of thumb, a standard cord
of air
dried dense hardwood weighs about two
tons
and provides as much heat as one ton
of coal.
Be suspicious of any alleged cord
delivered in a
1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup truck.
For best results, wood should be seasoned
(dried) properly, usually at east a
year. A plastic
tarp, wood planks, or other plastic or
metal
sheeting over the woodpile is useful
in keeping
the wood dry. Other types of fuels are
more
practical to store and use than wood
or coal.
Newspaper logs make a good and
inexpensive
source of fuel. You may prepare the
logs in the
following manner:
· Use about eight pages
of newspaper and
open flat.
· Spread the stack,
alternating the cut sides
and folded sides.
· Place a 1" wood
dowel or metal rod across
one end and roll the paper around the
rod
very tightly. Roll it until there are
6-8 inches
left to roll, then slip another 8
pages
underneath the roll. Continue this
procedure until you have a roll 4-6
inches in
diameter.
· With a fine wire, tie
the roll on both ends.
Withdraw the rod. Your newspaper log
is
ready to use. Four of these logs will
burn
about 1 hour.
Propane is another excellent
fuel for indoor
use. Like kerosene, it produces carbon
dioxide
as it burns and is therefore not
poisonous. It
does consume oxygen so be sure to
crack a
window when burning propane.
Propane stores indefinitely, having no known
shelf life. Propane stoves and small
portable
heaters are very economical, simple to
use, and
come the closest to approximating the
type of
convenience most of us are accustomed
to
using on a daily basis.
The storage of propane is governed by strict
local laws. In this area you may store
up to 1
gallon inside a building and up to 60
gallons
stored outside. If you store more than
these
amounts, you will need a special
permit from
the fire marshal.
The primary hazard in using propane is that it is heavier than air and
if a leak occurs it may
"pool" which can create an
explosive
atmosphere. Furthermore, basement
natural
gas heating units CANNOT be legally
converted
for propane use. Again, the vapors are
heavier
than air and form "pockets."
Ignition sources
such as water heaters and electrical
sources can cause an explosion.
White gas (Coleman fuel). Many
families have
camp stoves which burn Coleman Fuel or
white
gasoline. These stoves are fairly easy
to use
and produce a great amount of heat.
However,
they, like charcoal, produce vast
amounts of
carbon monoxide. NEVER use a
Coleman Fuel
stove indoors. It could be a fatal
mistake to
your entire family.
Never store fuels in the house or near a heater.
Use a metal store cabinet which is
vented on
top and bottom and can be locked.
Kerosene (also known as Range
Oil No. 1) is
the cheapest of all the storage fuels
and is also
very forgiving if you make a mistake.
Kerosene
is not as explosive as gasoline and
Coleman
fuel. Kerosene stores well for long
periods of
time and by introducing some fuel
additives it
can be made to store even longer.
However, do
not store it in metal containers for
extended time
periods unless they are porcelain
lined because
the moisture in the kerosene will rust
through
the container causing the kerosene to
leak out.
Most hardware stores and home improvement
centers sell kerosene in five gallon
plastic
containers which store for many years.
A 55
gallon drum stores in the back yard,
or ten 5
gallon plastic containers will provide
fuel enough
to last an entire winter if used
sparingly.
Caution: To burn kerosene you
will need a
kerosene heater. There are many models
and
sizes to choose from but remember that
you are
not trying to heat your entire home.
The larger
the heater the more fuel you will have
to store.
Most families should be able to get by on a
heater that produces about 9,600 BTUs
of heat,
though kerosene heaters are made that
will
produce up to 25,000 to 30,000 BTUs.
If you
have the storage space to store the
fuel
required by these larger heaters they
are
excellent investments, but for most
families the
smaller heaters are more than
adequate. When
selecting a kerosene heater be sure to
get one
that can double as a cooking surface
and source
of light. Then when you are forced to
use it be
sure to plan your meals so that they
can be
cooked when you are using the heater
for heat
rather than wasting fuel used for
cooking only.
When kerosene burns it requires very
little
oxygen, compared to charcoal. You must
crack
a window about 1/4 inch to allow
enough oxygen
to enter the room to prevent
asphyxiation.
During combustion, kerosene is not poisonous
and is safe to use indoors. To prevent
possible
fires you should always fill it
outside. The
momentary incomplete combustion during
lighting and extinguishing of kerosene
heaters
can cause some unpleasant odors. To
prevent
these odors from lingering in your
home always
light and extinguish the heater out of
doors.
During normal operation a kerosene
heater is
practically odorless.
Charcoal. Never use a charcoal
burning device
indoors. When charcoal burns it is a
voracious
consumer of oxygen and will quickly
deplete the
oxygen supply in your little
"home within a
home." Furthermore, as it burns
it produces
vast amounts of carbon monoxide which
is a
deadly poison. If you make the mistake
of
trying to heat your home by burning
charcoal it
could prove fatal to your entire
family. Never
burn charcoal indoors.
Upcoming CERT Training:
January 14th 8:00
am to 5:00 pm
and January 21st 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Taylorsville LDS
chapel at 955 W 4800 S
Register online
at:
The class requires an
online course to be completed before January 14th.
CPR training:
Register online at: http://www.unifiedfire.org/divisions/ops/cpr_schedule.aspx
This class is offered at
the Salt Lake County Emergency Operations Center located at 3380 S. 900 W. Salt
Lake City, UT 84119 (directly west of the Salt Lake County Jail)
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