Hypothermia is a serious medical condition with symptoms that include confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. It is caused by exposure to the cold, most often because of inclement weather. If you begin to experience these symptoms seek medical attention:

• Go indoors to get out of the cold.
• Remove cold, wet clothing.
• Use warm blankets to begin restoring the body’s temperature to normal.
• Drink plenty of fluids.

Several factors contribute to how well your body maintains its normal temperature – air temperature, wind, clothing, intensity of activity and the body’s ability to adapt to compensate for the cold environment.

Here are some tips to prevent hypothermia:

• Dress appropriately for the environment and your activity level by dressing in layers, wearing a hat that covers your ears, choosing mittens over gloves, wearing waterproof, insulted boots to keep your feet warm and dry, and removing wet clothes immediately.
• Warm your core body temperature by using a blanket and by drinking warm fluids like hot cider or soup.
• Avoid being outdoors during the coldest part of the day.
• Reduce the intensity of outside activities and take frequent breaks.

During breaks, drink warm fluids to help your body stay hydrated and maintain a normal temperature. Avoid beverages containing caffeine or alcohol as they hinder the body’s temperature-regulating mechanism. Dehydration is dangerous and, unfortunately, is less noticeable in cooler temperatures.

For safety reasons, standard solar systems that are connected to the electric grid will shut down when there is an outage to your electrical service. Unless they are specially designed, solar systems will not provide back-up power during an outage. This function is required by national regulations so crews can safely work on the electrical system without the danger of electrical back feed onto the grid.

Portable space heaters can provide comfort during an outage, but need to be treated safely. When buying and installing a small space heater, choose thermostatically controlled heaters, which avoid the energy waste of overheating a room. Thermostatically controlled heaters also won’t tax a generator. Select a heater of the proper size for the room you wish to heat. Do not purchase an oversized heater, as it may be a fire hazard for your home. Place the heater on a level surface away from foot traffic, and be especially careful to keep children and pets away from the heater.

As part of our storm or scheduled outage planning, Unitil makes special efforts to communicate with customers using life-support equipment. This will include a notification to you that we anticipate adverse weather or a scheduled outage which may result in a power outage.

You should have a backup plan prepared to respond to an extended power or service outage. We suggest the following preparations for customers with life sustaining equipment:

• Have an alternative source of electricity available, such as battery backup or a generator
• Keep emergency phone numbers handy for your doctor, police, fire and ambulance services
• Make arrangements in the event that you must leave your home because of an extended outage

Make sure you have contacted Unitil and relayed the type of life-support equipment in your dwelling as well as submitted a completed Physician's Certification Form. You may submit the completed form via fax at 603-227-4784 or by mail:

Unitil
c/o Customer Services – Life Support
5 McGuire Street
Concord, NH 03301

Also, whenever there's a change in life-support information, contact Unitil as it happens so that we revise our records appropriately.

During a power outage, customers depending on life support equipment should follow these tips:

• Contact Unitil to notify us that you have no power
• Inform Unitil of any special problems or concerns
• Use your backup plan, if needed

Wet electrical wiring is extremely hazardous. If your basement or other enclosed space has standing water, shut off power to all appliances in that location ONLY if you can do so safely. Safety hazards can include a service panel surrounded or affected by standing or running water or loose wires, which should be considered "live". Never attempt to remove fuses, switch open circuit breakers or operate switches while you are touching water.

Do not use fishing waders, rubber boots or household rubber gloves to insulate from electricity, as these barriers will not provide sufficient insulation to protect you from an electric shock.

The appropriate jurisdictional inspector must inspect all electrical wiring in buildings that have been partially or fully covered by floodwater before being put into service again. Contact a qualified electrician immediately to respond to the electrical concern with a flooded space.

If your home uses natural gas, flooding can present a hazard to your service and equipment. If you notice a strong gas odor or if there is other evidence of a natural gas leak (such as water being blown around your gas pipes or a hissing sound), immediately leave the area and call 911 and Unitil. Do not attempt to turn off your gas and avoid using any electrical devices, including cell phones and light switches in your home, as these could cause a spark and ignite the gas in the air.

If your natural gas service is shut off at the meter, do not attempt to turn it back on. Contact Unitil to restore gas service, as a professional will need to relight your pilots to prevent a build-up of natural gas inside your home.

After a flood, if water levels were high enough to cover the gas meter, please call Unitil to have your meter and regulator checked before using your gas system. Floodwaters may have shifted your home or caused other stresses to the natural gas piping, which could make a gas leak more likely.

If flooding has been severe, natural gas appliances should not be used until they are inspected by a qualified heating contractor, plumber or appliance repair professional. Note, however, that the cost of restoring some appliances to a safe operating condition may exceed the cost of a new appliance.

Do not attempt to place natural gas appliances back in service. A qualified heating contractor, plumber or appliance repair representative will check, clean, repair and pressure test all gas pipes, which may have been clogged with mud or debris.

Damage may also occur to switches, controls, thermostats, furnace heat exchangers, burner and pilot parts and result in rusting metals parts. A qualified heating contractor, plumber or appliance repair representative must perform any reconditioning or repairs to natural gas appliances.

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