[vter]

Coming from a firefighter family, please be very very very very careful with space heaters. They are a major cause of fires in the winter.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by vter

Coming from a firefighter family, please be very very very very careful with space heaters. They are a major cause of fires in the winter.

Excellent advice. They should only be operated while a person is physically present in the room and awake. Also, for folks that use them they should never be bundled into an outlet with other items. On the plus side, they warm up an area quickly, so no need to let them run constantly, and there is no carbon monoxide threat. No doubt we will see an increase in incidents and unfortunately deaths as people will be getting dangerously creative in mixing and matching heating sources. I actually am so anal that I will never leave the house or go to sleep with appliances like washer/dryer, dehumidifier, dishwsaher running. Then again, something as simple as an electric coffee pot can start a major blaze as we saw months ago in Manchester, NH.

[vter]

LOL, I'm like that too flu! I blame my father and cousins (all firefighters) for that because of the stories they tell me.

[tkln]

We have so many issues with space heaters down here in NY...just this past winter, my 86 year old neighbor passed away as a space heater caused a fire in his home. The sad thing is, he was fully conscious and could've left the house - instead he tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.

[OhBeeHave]

Then again, something as simple as an electric coffee pot can start a major blaze as we saw months ago in Manchester, NH.

A while ago we left the house to head back to NY. About 5 mins from the house I started thinking that I forgot to unplug the coffee pot. I knew I turned it off, but leaving it plugged in (as well as the toaster and any other small appliance -- I fear mice chewing things) is something I don't want to do. My husband listened to me plead my case for 10 mins (we are now 15 mins away) before he turned around to placate me. I ran in, unplugged the coffee pot, checked the toaster and microwave and ran out.

We missed our ferry back to LI by 7 mins. Hubby says it's my fault, but had hubby turned aroud when I first said the post plugged in, we would have been 10-11 mins behind schedule and made the ferry, not 30 mins and missing it. I felt much better knowing the pot (and everything else) was unplugged.

I've heard stories about all manner of things starting fires, so I guess I am much more uptight about this sort of thing than he is.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by vter

LOL, I'm like that too flu! I blame my father and cousins (all firefighters) for that because of the stories they tell me.

Let me tell you, having had a career in LE, but having known many firemen (especially the FDNY guys growing up in NYC) these folks in my opinion have the life experience and common sense that unfortunately is so seriously lacking in society in general. The arm chair quarterbacks with their various pedigrees in life are so full of knowledge and advice but when the going gets tough the truly tough really get going. Heck, if it was not for the fear of heights I know several decades ago I surely would have tried out for the FDNY. I know their repuation will forever be affixed to 9-11, but those who have lived there know that year after year on a daily basis they perform some incredible feats.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

A while ago we left the house to head back to NY. About 5 mins from the house I started thinking that I forgot to unplug the coffee pot. I knew I turned it off, but leaving it plugged in (as well as the toaster and any other small appliance -- I fear mice chewing things) is something I don't want to do. My husband listened to me plead my case for 10 mins (we are now 15 mins away) before he turned around to placate me. I ran in, unplugged the coffee pot, checked the toaster and microwave and ran out.

We missed our ferry back to LI by 7 mins. Hubby says it's my fault, but had hubby turned aroud when I first said the post plugged in, we would have been 10-11 mins behind schedule and made the ferry, not 30 mins and missing it. I felt much better knowing the pot (and everything else) was unplugged.

I've heard stories about all manner of things starting fires, so I guess I am much more uptight about this sort of thing than he is.

Very wise indeed. So much damage, loss of property, loss of life, could be avoided with just adhering to simple and minimally time consuming safety awareness tasks. Now if we could only somehow find a way to shut down the crazy reckless idiots that plague our roads ...

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by flu189

Now if we could only somehow find a way to shut down the crazy reckless idiots that plague our roads ...

Hehehe!

[Mary77]

This morning we had the salesman for Vermont Gas come out and give us an estimate on how much it would cost to convert from fuel oil to natural gas. It's only going to cost us $350 for a new liner for the chimney and he estimated that we would save close to $1600 in one year--that is if the current rate for fuel oil (now around $4.50 !!) stays the same or goes higher. Wow. We didn't even know we had the option of natural gas in our neighborhood until we saw our neighbor getting hooked up for it last month. The salesman said they are so swamped with business that if people don't get signed up withing the next couple of months, they could lose their chance until next Spring. Thank God for this option, because before this, I wasn't sure how we were going to afford heat next Winter. If you're reading this and want to find out if you can get natural gas, send me a message and I'll give you the salesman's name and number. I called Vermont Gas to sign up for an estimate and waited a week and still no one had called. My neighbor gave me this guy's number and he contacted me the same day.

[flu189]

Warning!!! I know the temptation is great to consider natural gas and actually if I could get it where I am I probably would having experience with it in the past. However, watch the price of natural gas closely as it has rapidly risen already and is expected to continue to do so, perhaps to the point where it will be be equivalent with oil. Before taking the word of any local salesman do research on the actual prices from th EIA/DOE site. Where I used to live natural gas has actually quadrupled in cost since 2000, much on par with oil. For those looking at conversions it might just pay off if you don't have to sink extreme amounts of cash into running connector lines.