If the unthinkable happens, and you find yourself without gas or light when the clock ushers in the new year, don't even think about keeping warm by burning wooden logs in your gas fireplace.
Although the gas is off, some could be trapped in the line, leading to the potential for a fire or explosion. The wood burns too hot and could hurt the fireplace, which is also dangerous. And there's a real risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, said Don C. Cobb, emergency analyst for the state's Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management. Those are three good reasons to use the fireplace only as it was intended and manufactured.Cobb and Ann Allen, emergency coordinator for LDS, Alta View and Cottonwood hospitals, fielded questions from around the state on emergency preparedness and Y2K during the monthly Deseret News/Intermountain Health-Care Hotline Saturday.
A number of the calls concerned the proper way to store water so it can be consumed during an emergency. Cobb and Allen told callers to avoid putting water in plastic milk jugs, because they are porous, and leaching can contaminate the water. Water should not be stored on cement. It should be placed on a sheet of plywood instead. The two-liter pop bottles are excellent for water storage; so are juice bottles. Plastic isn't better than glass for keeping the water uncontaminated, but in an earthquake, the glass bottles could shatter.
Cobb recommends storing from one to five gallons of water for each person each day, with a minimum of three days. And he said to keep a jug of bleach nearby, along with an eye dropper. Water that has been stored for a while or unchlorinated water should get 15 drops of bleach per gallon to make it safe to drink.
Both experts warned callers against storing water in containers that are too large to be readily moved. Water weighs a lot, and if you have to leave the storage area, it won't do you much good if you can't take it with you, they said.
Several callers wanted to know how much fuel they can keep on hand. The answer is that every local government has its own rules about that, so it depends on where you live. But no locale will let you store large quantities of fuel in the house or an attached garage. There are limits to what can be stored at all, but most of it should be in a shed away from the house.
And Allen emphasized that being prepared isn't a million-dollar process. It can be done very reasonably using things you have on hand. She laughed about some of the companies that feed on Y2K jitters by selling overpriced emergency kits. One, she said, even advertised "dehydrated water." One presumes you just add water.
Finally, Cobb suggested that people not pick up their telephones at midnight to see if they're working. That will jam the system.
Y2K should be approached with a healthy dose of common sense, they said.
"But the most important thing to have on hand is a good attitude," said Cobb.