The Iowa State Fire Marshal Division is working to remind everyone that home fires are more prevalent in winter than in any other season. This is due in part to an increase in cooking and heating fires. Holiday decorations and winter storms that can interrupt electrical service and cause people to turn to alternative heating sources also contribute to the increased risk of fire in winter.
Winter fires can be prevented! The following fire safety tips can help you maintain a fire-safe home this winter season.

Wood Stoves
Wood stoves and fireplaces are becoming a very common heat source in homes. Careful attention to safety can minimize their fire hazard.
To use them safely:

• Be sure the fireplace or stove is installed properly.  Wood stoves should have adequate clearance (36”) from combustible surfaces and proper floor support and protection.
• Wood stoves should be of good quality, solid construction and design, and should be laboratory tested.
• Have the chimney inspected annually and cleaned if necessary, especially if it has not been used for some time.
• Do not use flammable liquids to start or accelerate any fire.
• Keep a glass or metal screen in front of the fireplace opening, to prevent embers or sparks from jumping out, unwanted material from going in, and help prevent the possibility of burns to occupants.
• The stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15-30 minutes to reduce the amount of creosote buildup.
• Don’t use excessive amounts of paper to build roaring fires in fireplaces. It is possible to ignite creosote in the chimney by overbuilding the fire.
• Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal can give off lethal amounts of carbon monoxide.
• Keep flammable materials away from your fireplace mantel. A spark from the fireplace could easily ignite these materials.
• Before you go to sleep, be sure your fireplace fire is out. NEVER close your damper with hot ashes in the fireplace. A closed damper will help the fire to heat up again and will force toxic carbon monoxide into the house.
• If synthetic logs are used, follow the directions on the package. NEVER break a synthetic log apart to quicken the fire or use more than one log at a time.  They often burn unevenly, releasing higher levels of carbon monoxide.

 Campfire Safety

• Build campfires where they will not spread, away from dry grass and leaves.
• Do not let children start the fire or add logs or other fuel to the fire.
• Never accelerate or start fires with gasoline.
• Keep campfires small, and don’t let them get out of hand.
• Keep plenty of water and a shovel around to douse the fire when you’re done. Stir it and douse it again with water.
• Never leave campfires unattended and keep children away from the fire.

Furnace Heating

• It is important that you have your furnace inspected to ensure that it is in good working condition.
• Be sure all furnace controls and emergency shutoffs are in proper working condition.
• Leave furnace repairs to qualified specialists.  Do not attempt repairs yourself unless you are qualified. Inspect the walls and ceiling near the furnace and along the chimney line. If the wall is hot or discolored, additional pipe insulation or clearance may be required.
• Check the flue pipe and pipe seams. Are they well supported and free of holes and cracks? Soot along or around seams may be an indicator of a leak.
• Is the chimney solid, with cracks or loose bricks?  All unused flue openings should be sealed with solid masonry.
• Keep trash and other combustibles away from the heating system.

Other Fire Safety Tips

• Never discard hot ashes inside or near the home. Place them in a metal container outside and well away from the house.
• Never use a range or an oven as a supplemental heating device. Not only is it a safety hazard, it can be a source of potentially toxic fumes.
• If you use an electric heater, be sure not to overload the circuit. Only use extension cords which have the necessary rating to carry an amp load.

TIP: Choose an extension cord the same size or larger than the appliance electrical cord.

• Avoid using electrical space heaters in bathrooms or other areas where they may come in contact with water.
• Frozen water pipes? Never try to thaw them with a blow torch or other open flame, otherwise the pipe could conduct the heat and ignite the wall structure inside the wall space. Use hot water or a laboratory tested device such as a hand held dryer for thawing.
• If windows are used as emergency exits in your home, practice using them in the event fire should strike. Be sure that all the windows open easily. Home escape ladders are recommended.
• If there is a fire hydrant near your home you can assist the fire department by keeping the hydrant clear of snow so in the event it is needed, it can be located.

Finally…

• Be sure every level of your home has a working smoke alarm, and be sure to check and clean it on a monthly basis.
• Plan and practice a home escape plan with your family.
• Contact your local fire department for advice if you have a question on home fire safety.

Forecasters say much colder weather will wash over Iowa late tomorrow (Friday) and air conditioners will be switched off as furnaces are turned on. Temperatures are expected to plummet from highs today (Thursday) in the 70s and 80s to lows Saturday night in the 30s. Bruce McDowell, spokesman for the American Gas Association, says Iowans who heat their homes with natural gas can expect to see a moderate price hike in the season ahead.

“Really not much of a change from last year,” McDowell says. “Slight increase in prices and colder temperatures. We’re guessing around a 5% or so increase in total bills.” That estimate is taking into account shutdowns due to hurricanes, snowstorms and other severe weather. McDowell says Iowans shouldn’t have to worry about any natural gas shortages.

“Supplies are abundant,” McDowell says. “Our storage is nearly full. We’ve got a lot of gas ready to come on the market. If prices go up a little bit more, that gas will be flowing in.” He says the predicted five-percent price hike for natural gas over the season ahead can essentially be attributed to two issues — the forecast for a harsher winter ahead and higher transportation costs.

“Half of the jump is because it’s going to be a little colder,” McDowell says. “The other half is because those are the costs that are incurred when you take gas from the production area to the utility and then from the utility to the customer, those all have costs.” The U-S Census Bureau estimates 67-percent of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15-percent use electricity, 14-percent use propane, and the rest use wood or fuel oil.

(Radio Iowa)

Three days into the government shutdown, the U-S-D-A has transferred unspent funding from last year to the Women Infants and Children or WIC supplemental food assistance program for the month of October. Jill Lange [LANG], the director of the WIC program for the state, says 66-thousand mothers and children in Iowa receive WIC benefits. “What that means is we are now able to print checks for WIC participants just for the month of October. At this point we are only issuing October because we don’t have any money to go any further out than that,” Lange says.

Checks average about 55-dollars a month, and are usually distributed three months at a time. Recipients will only get their October checks now, and will receive November and December in the mail if the federal shutdown ends before then. Doug Beardsley oversees the WIC program for four southeast Iowa counties and says it isn’t a permanent fix — but he’s staying optimistic the shutdown will end in time.

“Not going to get into the politics of it all, but hopefully members of Congress can sit down and get something worked out so we can get back to doing what we’ve been contracted to do,” Beardsley says. Beardsley says when news got out that the government shutdown had halted WIC, calls poured in from Iowans offering to donate food and infant formula.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Google’s newest data center in western Iowa is ready to help the company deliver Internet search results, find directions and save information. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company held an open house Thursday afternoon to show off its second data center in Council Bluffs — just across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb.

Google says it has invested more than $1.1 billion in its two Council Bluffs data centers and created more than 130 jobs so far. The first one opened in 2009. Google has said it chose Council Bluffs for the centers because it offered relatively cheap electricity and had land and skilled workers available. The company also applied for up to $300 million in tax incentives from Iowa.