This is national fire prevention week. There was actually a presidential proclamation declaring this week in 2013.
Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires with heating related fires close behind. Here are some tips to help prevent and put out fires:
1) Make sure you have a smoke detector in every room of your home, but not in the kitchen
2) Unplug appliances when not in use
3) Don't use metal in the microwave, beware dinnerware sometimes has metal paint on the trim
4) Keep your stove & oven clean and in good repair
5) Be extra careful when cooking with oil or grease - be sure you don't over heat or over fill
NEVER pour water on a grease fire, use sand, baking soda or a fire extinguisher.
6) Be sure all flammables are kept away from the stove & oven - like pot holders, dish & paper towels
7) Around the holiday, if you have a real tree, water daily and keep several feet from heaters.
8) Be sure your chimney was cleaned before the start of the heating season
9) Have your existing furnace inspected and maintained by a professional regularly
Follow this CHAIN:
CALL 911 for help
HAVE a fire plan in place - arrange meeting place away from the home - and have fire drills
ASK your local fire department for window stickers to alert there are children or elderly in the home
INSPECT your portable fire extinguisher & keep in an easily accessible spot - Every home should have one.
NFPA the National Fire Protection Association has many more tips visit them & make a plan.
We also have more information direct from many of the fire insurance companies we work with. They want to help you prevent fires. Visit us on the web at http://www.tiains.com , stop in to one of our three locations or give us a call for more info or to get a free quote for fire insurance.
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Government Shutdown
If your like me you're trying to figure out what's open and what's closed with this government shut down. I contacted the USDA and they were closed yesterday. The voice mail said they were out of the office no return date set and they will not be checking email or voice mail while on furlough. However, I am still getting mail every day. Both are Federal departments of the United States Government.
So here is a condensed list of what's what:
USPS, otherwise known as MAIL, still continues to be delivered. The reason for this is because the USPS does not receive money from taxes it is funded by its own income producing sources, like postage for example.
National Parks and National Museums, are all closed. This has a trickle effect on the economy. If you are located in the eastern part of the state, for example, it is peak season for tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful fall foliage. However if you wanted to stay in a state park you may have cancelled your trip and other local businesses are losing out because your are not there to eat at their diner or shop at their gift shop.
Air Travel, thankfully Air Traffic Controllers and airport security are not on furlough... can you imagine?? Unbelievably though, federal plane INSPECTORS are on furlough as well as some aircraft repair stations. The International Embassy's are still open and passports and visas are still being processed. Again because fees are generated from these directly.
If you collect social security, unemployment or medicare you are still receiving your benefits. Federal courts continue to operate for the time being, however non essential personnel could be furloughed if the issues at hand are not resolved quickly. Women Infants and Children (WIC), Food Stamps and school lunch program only has enough funding to make it through October it has been reported and they may cease at that time.
Another department that is experiencing the shutdown directly is the Food Safety Division. If a recall or outbreak occurs the department said they could handle it but the people who investigate the outbreaks are on furlough! There won't be any inspectors visiting anytime in the near future either to be sure your facility is clean. However, Meat inspectors still continue to be in meat packing plants every day, as required by law.
Military, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Prisons, NASA, National Weather Service are still pretty much operating as normal, some non essential employees have been furloughed.
Loans - If you are trying to purchase a home you can expect a delay and if the shutdown continues it will be worse. The reason is that they banks require tax data. Unfortunately the IRS will not be processing any taxes or conducting audits during the shutdown. The applications for FHA mortgages and government loans for small businesses have been shut down.
So that's the abbreviated version. If you have questions I would suggest calling the IRS or the department in question, but in most cases you won't get any answer. If you try going to many of the links I provided, same thing. Sorry were closed.
Here is a link that does work to get some more detailed information on the departments and programs affected by the shutdown and those that remain open. You also can go to: http://www.usa.gov/
Visit us on the web at www.tiains.com.
So here is a condensed list of what's what:
USPS, otherwise known as MAIL, still continues to be delivered. The reason for this is because the USPS does not receive money from taxes it is funded by its own income producing sources, like postage for example.
National Parks and National Museums, are all closed. This has a trickle effect on the economy. If you are located in the eastern part of the state, for example, it is peak season for tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful fall foliage. However if you wanted to stay in a state park you may have cancelled your trip and other local businesses are losing out because your are not there to eat at their diner or shop at their gift shop.
Air Travel, thankfully Air Traffic Controllers and airport security are not on furlough... can you imagine?? Unbelievably though, federal plane INSPECTORS are on furlough as well as some aircraft repair stations. The International Embassy's are still open and passports and visas are still being processed. Again because fees are generated from these directly.
If you collect social security, unemployment or medicare you are still receiving your benefits. Federal courts continue to operate for the time being, however non essential personnel could be furloughed if the issues at hand are not resolved quickly. Women Infants and Children (WIC), Food Stamps and school lunch program only has enough funding to make it through October it has been reported and they may cease at that time.
Another department that is experiencing the shutdown directly is the Food Safety Division. If a recall or outbreak occurs the department said they could handle it but the people who investigate the outbreaks are on furlough! There won't be any inspectors visiting anytime in the near future either to be sure your facility is clean. However, Meat inspectors still continue to be in meat packing plants every day, as required by law.
Military, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Prisons, NASA, National Weather Service are still pretty much operating as normal, some non essential employees have been furloughed.
Loans - If you are trying to purchase a home you can expect a delay and if the shutdown continues it will be worse. The reason is that they banks require tax data. Unfortunately the IRS will not be processing any taxes or conducting audits during the shutdown. The applications for FHA mortgages and government loans for small businesses have been shut down.
So that's the abbreviated version. If you have questions I would suggest calling the IRS or the department in question, but in most cases you won't get any answer. If you try going to many of the links I provided, same thing. Sorry were closed.
Here is a link that does work to get some more detailed information on the departments and programs affected by the shutdown and those that remain open. You also can go to: http://www.usa.gov/
Visit us on the web at www.tiains.com.
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