What's Happening MoCo?

What's Happening with Snow Safety - Fire and Rescue

• Derrick Kenny

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A major winter storm doesn’t have to become a household emergency. We sat down with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue’s Pete Piringer to unpack clear, no-nonsense steps for staying safe when the snow and ice arrive—starting with what to do today. From smoke alarms and escape plans to smart heating, our conversation focuses on the real risks people face when they hunker down: unattended cooking, overloaded outlets, and space heaters too close to things that burn.

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SPEAKER_01:

Good day and welcome to a very special What's Happening Moco update. We're talking snow, we're talking safety. Are you and your loved ones ready for Snow Bagell?

SPEAKER_00:

Good day and welcome to What's Happening Moco, an authentic, unscripted podcast from your Montgomery County government. Now who's your host of Derek Kenny?

SPEAKER_01:

We're here with Pete Piringer. Okay, I called it, I called it Snow Mageddon. I don't know how many inches we're going to get. It's a DC area. We can get one inch, we could get 12 inches, we can get 15 inches. Well you're not a you're not a meteorologist, Pete, but you are the public information officer for fire and rescue.

SPEAKER_02:

But uh that being said, hey, I don't want this to be a snow job, but uh we have been paying attention to the weather, and of course, uh as we uh have experience years in, years out, things change. And uh, but this one seems like uh you know it's credible that we're gonna get some snow, so and uh maybe some ice. So uh obviously your fire rescue and uh our partners in public safety have been preparing for a couple days. Uh we're ready for the weekend, but um we hope to uh tell everybody, you know, give some advice. Uh, you know, it's a beautiful day on uh Thursday. Yeah. Friday's gonna be kind of a nice day. Use these days to get ready for uh what's potentially gonna come.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, when you say get ready, um there's different things that people are doing to get ready. Uh, some of them may be appropriate, um, and some of them may not be appropriate. So um, of course, we're not talking about necessarily getting all the toilet paper and water that you can get from Costco. Uh, what are some of the things people need to do be doing um to get ready? Let's maybe have a top five.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, well, maybe let's uh maybe keep it in context. I mean, this could be like uh, you know, a storm uh we haven't had in a decade. Oh no. And thinking back in in that time, uh, we've had some pretty significant weather. And uh, you know, some of us were out of power for a week, for one week. And so you know potentially that's what we're looking at for this storm. So that being said, uh, I mean, most likely is gonna happen is a uh some power outages. Uh and uh, you know, before we get there, though, we hope that just like any other day, people have a working smoke alarm on every level of the home. Okay. Have an escape plan, know what to do, uh, close before you doze, close your door at nighttime. Uh, you know, wintertime is typically a busy time of year for us for fires. Okay. Uh, number one cause of fire year-round is cooking, unintended cooking. Okay. But this time of year it's related to heating equipment. Uh, we've already had several fires uh caused by uh combustibles too close to a heating source or a space heater. Uh we've had a couple of uh fires related to uh electrical overloads and things of that nature. So uh when you have these weather events, people are indoors a lot. Uh you have kids, pets, distractions, uh certainly holiday season. Certainly. Uh so all those things come into play. But um, you know, heat heating safely, and uh whether it be the fire pit, wood wood burning stove, space heater. Uh of course, we don't want people to use a stove, stovetop or oven for a heating source.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. So so there's and I understand some people and and if you have a gas stove or electric stove, you you're talking about opening up the oven and turning on the the oven to whatever you can get it on to generate heat for your house. Yeah. That's not a good idea.

SPEAKER_02:

No. Okay. And I mean the power companies and others have been giving out some advice here last couple of days on how to compartmentalize your home, you know, open the shades, close the shades, close the doors, uh, put on a sweater, have extra blankets, you know, those types of things keep warm in the event that you have a power outage. But now's the time to plan before all this happens. Right. Make sure that you have uh your flashlights work. Uh, you have some way to uh you know charge in uh you know your electronic devices uh in the event that you uh you have an emergency. Uh and those types of things is what we should be doing now.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. So those are some of the things we should be doing. What things should we not be doing? Uh when the snow starts and there's a couple inches on the ground, what do we want to discourage people from doing?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, from a fire rescue point of view, that's one thing. But uh before we get there, it's like if you don't have to go out, so you know, I think we're fortunate this is a weekend. Yeah. Uh fortunate for the general public because it allows the word uh the work crews to get out there, treat the roads. You know, they've already been treating the roads for a couple days now already uh with the liquid uh treatment. Uh but you know, there's going to be maybe some significant plowing taking place and that sort of thing. So just let the crews work. If you don't have to go out, you know, or drive anyway, don't. Uh if we have that ice uh accumulation, you know, it doesn't take much ice uh to cause a big problem. Um, you know, be mindful of that first step out of your house. You know, your your sidewalk, your steps might be uh slick. Certainly parking lots, overpasses, uh bridges, things of that nature, uh, you know, the usual stuff. Uh so all those things are things to be mindful if you're a uh motorist. Uh pedestrian, same thing. You know, if you come across a slick situation, walk like a penguin, you know, just kind of take small steps and you know, shuffle around, uh, those types of things. But you know, we're not quite there yet. Uh, you know, now's the time we should be planning about these things, thinking about these things. Uh, you know, make sure or gather those things that you would typically have in your emergency kit. Right. Uh, in this particular case, you might want to think about, you know, it's going to be cold all week, they're predicting next week. Oh, wow. Uh so you know, extra blankets, uh things that you know, things that might help keep you warm.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, fantastic. And that's in case there's some type of electrical emergency or you lose electricity. And it's not only the grid going um necessarily, there's branches and things like that. Because I believe I was in a meeting earlier today, and they said the trees haven't seen a snow like this in quite some time, meaning that if there are power lines around, the trees may not be ready to sustain the weight of a heavy snow. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So uh that that's uh one thing. I think that's the most likely uh major, you know, widespread thing that will occur. You know, the power outages. Right. How that occurs, you know, comes in a variety of ways. But uh, you know, that is one thing to be concerned about. Of course, we're concerned about your uh health and well-being. Of course, you know, the vulnerable community, you know, some uh younger kids or older adults, uh, or maybe uh people that have mobility issues, you know, keep an eye on them, maybe be a good neighbor. Uh, you know, keep an eye on those folks, make sure that they have what they need uh before the storm comes. You know, that's this we have a couple days uh that let's let's work on that.

SPEAKER_01:

And this this might be a premium time for accessing emergency services. What are some of the situations that you'd like people to not call 911, but to call an alternative number or do some type of alternative outreach to get support?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, of course, uh you know, we have 311 weekend, uh will be a little different, but uh, you know, the uh 911 is for emergencies. And uh if you have a true, if you believe you're having an emergency or someone is having an emergency, uh absolutely call 911. We want you to call 911. Our communication personnel, emergency communication personnel are very good. Uh, you know, what you should expect when you call 911 all the time is you know you're gonna get a series of questions. Uh, first of all and foremost, know your address and what's the emergency. That'll get us off to a good start. Then they'll ask uh some questions on, you know, to make sure that we can send the appropriate uh, you know, have have an appropriate response. You know, that being said, we're we're doing a lot of work right now in fire rescue to prepare and able to respond. Uh, we are planning to upstaff some apparatus. We're bringing in some reserve apparatus, have that ready reserve apparatus. Our volunteers are stepping up, we're putting additional equipment into service. We're anticipating, you know, a big deal here. So, you know, we'll be ready to respond. But, you know, uh, we hope that nobody will have to call us. But you know, it's gonna be problematic for us, possibly to get around. Uh, but uh, you know, we we we think we're ready to go and uh have our appropriate things lined up.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. Well, we we definitely talked to um Department of Transportation, uh Tim Serrano, uh the uh um the manager for the Storm Center over there at the Department of Transportation. So they've been treating all week, they're the plows are ready, uh, they're ready to go. Um they ask that people, of course, stay off the roads. But if you do see a big truck, uh, whether it's a plow or a salt truck, stay out the way, give it some birth, don't try to speed by or do anything distracting, uh, kind of use your sense. Um let's play devil's advocate here. Um and not necessarily we're playing, um, we're hoping that this this might happen. But if this if something happens to someone that's shoveling or walking and there's a fall or there's a heart attack it, but it's cold outside, how should they be treated? Should we um and I'm not sure if you can answer this question, but how do you respond in that situation? Um, your husband or your your wife has been out shoving snow, they've had an incident, they fall. Do you leave them where they are? Do you bring them in? How do we respond to that moment?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, like anything uh in in that situation, it depends on on the on the situation and what's going on. Hopefully we'll prevent that from occurring in the first place. So if you're not of uh good health, have somebody else shovel. Okay. Uh, you know, if uh if it's icy and slick outside, you know, and you have mobility issues, you know, you might want to eliminate that from your uh list. But uh that being said, uh just treat it like any other emergency. You know, call 911. You know, the sooner we get called, the sooner we can get there and help. Uh, but it really depends. And uh we'd like to think that uh a lot of our community is already trained and you know, have some first aid training, whether it be uh CPR, uh, you know, you have some things there that uh you can help. But the if you call 911, the uh 911 communication personnel will help you through. They'll ask you some questions, prompt you, uh, and maybe give you some advice uh, you know, how to stop bleeding, how to perform CPR, whatever the case might be.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. So we've talked so far about being ready in case of outages, whether that's um electrical wires going down or brownouts, whatever, extra blankets, flashlights, candles, no?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh man, candles are a big no. Candles are a no. You can like the uh flameless candles, you know, battery operated. They have some very nice ones now, but any kind of open flame, uh, you know, we're we're not gonna like that. So uh that is a significant cause of fire. This time of year with the holidays, there's a lot of celebrations that involve candles. Uh so it's just like uh, you know, if you leave a room, if you have a candle uh and you leave the room, snuff it out before you leave.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And watch your stove, monitor your stove. If you're cooking or your kids are home and you want to help mommy and daddy out and they want to cook, still keep tabs on things.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, uh, you know, stand by your pan. So uh, you know, same thing. The number one cause of uh fire year-round is unattended cooking. So there's a lot of distractions. You know, if you have pets or kids, you know, create that safety zone around. Uh kids often help out uh when the weather's bad, you might be cooking extra batch of cookies or whatever. You know, just kind of uh keep an eye on it uh and uh you know have a plan. Plan, you know, a little planning goes a long way when you're uh cooking. Uh but uh basically if you do have a flare up, uh say a grease fire, you can just put a lid on it, snuff it out.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, really? Okay. Now, and you're also saying that once we finish cooking the cookies, don't accidentally leave the oven over open, heating the kitchen and the dining room and the living room through your oven. Don't do that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, well, you know, when you finish the cookies, that's the time to call the fire department. We'll help you come finish them up. So what's happening, Moco, Derek Loves Cookies. We thank that. Uh we thank you for that. Okay. Uh, but uh yes, time to time, people, you know, they're cold. Uh they think that the quick fix might be to turn the oven on and open the oven door. Right. Uh, not a great idea. Okay. Uh, but uh in and you know, space heaters while we're on the subject are for the heat of space typically. Right. So um again, if you uh you know close doors, you know, compartmentalize, and that will keep that room warm. But if you're gonna leave, turn it off before you leave. And don't sleep with a space heater on. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, this is a weekend we mentioned earlier that a lot of people are able to relax, watch the football games. Um, I think there's two games this weekend, of course. Uh Commanders are not playing, unfortunately, and Dallas is not playing, which is a good thing. Um, but you're you'll still be working. Um, fire and rescue will still be working, Department of Transportation will still be working. Um, and maybe we'll be able to connect with you guys uh as things develop. Uh or if there's uh messages that you want to share with the public, uh perhaps we can connect what's happening, Moco, uh, with you guys and share updates over the weekend.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh sure. You know, we're we're 24-7, uh 365 all the time anyway. But uh this weekend, yes, we are gearing up, and I know uh Chief Smedley will be uh available and keep an eye on things. We do have our joint operations center uh is being upstaffed, and that's a combination of public safety, emergency management, police and fire, of course. We're that helps us manage uh the situation. We do we do have extra staffing coming in, career and volunteer. So, you know, we'll we're we're gonna be there. And should somebody need our help, you know, we'll we'll be there.

SPEAKER_01:

Fantastic. And I was reminded earlier today that though the county has done a fantastic job in the past of clearing up snow and ice and all those things, um, this snowstorm may be a little different. So the expectations might be tempered a bit, uh, especially if we have uh more than several inches of snow or uh more than a mild accumulation of ice.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, you know, uh my experience watching those uh workers uh in the big storms we've had in the past, they do a great job. You know, they'll make a pass through. I mean, we're we're big county, but they will uh, you know, they have they have a plan and they usually make a pass, at least one pass through neighborhoods, but then it snows, might snow a couple more inches. Uh on top of that, they'll they'll be back. But uh, you know, they they uh and if there's a special problem, uh of course they pay attention to hospitals, fire stations, police stations, things of that nature, main thoroughfares. Uh we have state highway, state roads also is uh quite involved. So uh, yeah, there's a lot going on. They have a plan. I think you can even monitor, you know, where the trucks are nowadays, but uh, you know, that's uh, you know, they know what they're doing, yeah, but it's a big job.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep. And I believe Tim said the URL to monitor snow activity in the county is Montgomery CountyMD.gov backslash or forward slash snow. Pretty easy to remember. Uh, you can check out where the trucks are because they do have uh GPSs in the trucks. You can see if they're getting to your neighborhood. But remember, no matter how important your neighborhood street is to you, the hospitals, uh, the other places where emergency services needs to function are probably the most priority, the biggest priorities, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but uh we we know, my experience is that everybody in Montgomery County lives next door to somebody important.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And everybody is somebody in Montgomery County, American. That's right. That's right, no matter who you are. And we'll be talking to all you guys later. Hopefully, make sure you like, subscribe, and share this information uh with others that need to know how to function in the snow and look forward to updates from the What's Happening Moco podcast this weekend as we look forward to snowmagedon or significant snowfall, maybe some ice. Whatever comes your way, we'll have a update for you there. Thanks to Pete Perringer and Fire and Rescue for the time today and all the great tips that will help keep us safe and warm through this weekend. I know you're wrapping up, but one last thing.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, yes, sir. Maybe uh uh ask everybody to adopt the fire hydrant that's in front of your house. All right. When the snow piles up, please clear it in case we need it.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, all right. And so there's a if there's a fire hydrant there, you want to dig out how much like a foot on each side?

SPEAKER_02:

Three feet. About three feet would be good. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So in addition to the sidewalk, if you have a fire hydrant, we need three feet on each side of the um so the people, the fire people can get some.

SPEAKER_02:

WSSC has a program and uh does Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. Okay. Adopt the hydrant. Uh, a lot of good information on there. If you need to find out where your closest hydrant is, you can go on there. But uh just think of that if you're when when the time comes to shovel.

SPEAKER_01:

That's good to know. I'm not even sure if if anyone would think about that. If anything, they may be piling more snow on top of the hydrant as opposed to making sure that it's accessible. Well, thanks again for being here today. And remember, uh, close those ovens if you're not baking cookies, uh, turn them off if you're not cooking, monitor closely, be careful with the space heaters, compartmentalize to be more efficient with your heat. And um, if you're not in shape enough to shovel snow or walk on ice, don't try it. Right, so to speak. Okay, great. And that's what's happening, Moco. Talk to you guys soon.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for listening to what's happening, Moco. And follow us on Facebook. This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County government. Connect with us via cable, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube by searching for County Cable Local.