DeKalb County Opens Three Warming Centers

DECATUR, Ga. – DeKalb County will open three warming centers for citizens to use overnight as temperatures are expected to remain below freezing. The following stations will open Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. and the close date is to be determined.

·       Fire Station 3, 100 N. Clarendon Ave, Avondale GA 30002

·       Fire Station 6, 2342 Flat Shoals Road, Atlanta, GA 30316

·       Fire Station 21, 1090 Crown Point Pkwy, Atlanta GA. 30338

During regular business hours, DeKalb libraries, senior centers and recreation centers are also available.

With temperatures forecast below freezing through Thursday, county officials are also sharing the following tips for winter weather safety:

·       Exercise safety and use proper ventilation when using alternative heat sources, such as fireplaces and electric heaters. Do not use an oven to heat your house. Do not bring grills, generators, kerosene heaters and other outside heating devices inside to heat a home, as they emit poisonous carbon monoxide.

·       If there is no heat, close off unneeded rooms, stuff towels in cracks under doors and cover windows at night.

·       Keep pets inside and ensure their food and water is not frozen.

·       Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses. Detaching the hose allows water to drain from the pipe. Otherwise, a hard freeze can burst either the faucet or the pipe.

·       Insulate pipes or faucets in unheated areas. If there are pipelines in an unheated garage or cold crawl space under the house, wrap the water pipes before temperatures plummet. Find the house master water shutoff valve. It may be near the water heater or the washing machine. More likely, it’s where the water line comes into your house from the street. If a pipe bursts anywhere in the house, this valve turns it off.

• Leave a pencil-lead-thin stream of water flowing from a bathroom faucet during the worst of a cold spell. Running water has a lesser chance of freezing.
• If a pipe freezes, do not try to thaw it using a torch with an open flame. This is a fire hazard, and it could also melt pipe solder or burst the pipe. The safest tool is a hair dryer with a low heat setting. Wave the warm air back and forth along the pipe, not on one spot.
• Frostbite and hypothermia are a concern with extremely cold temperatures and can occur in less than 30 minutes. Limit time outdoors during cold and windy conditions. When going outside, wear layers of loose fitting clothing and wear a hat, scarf and gloves to minimize skin exposure to the cold and wind.

County residents are encouraged to sign up for DeKalb County’s high-speed emergency notification system, CodeRED, which has the ability to quickly deliver time-sensitive messages via voice, email and text to targeted areas of the county during emergency situations. To sign up for CodeRED, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov and click the CodeRED logo at the bottom of the page.

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