Avoid Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol is not a good idea in extremely cold temperatures. Alcohol is dehydrating, which is less noticeable during the winter. Alcohol also interferes with the body’s internal thermometer, which can prevent shivering, and result in an accelerated loss of body heat.

Charge Your Cellphone
The importance of a cellphone can’t be overstated. These are the ultimate emergency devices, so make sure yours is charged and ready to go.

Don’t Forget About Your Pets
Blizzards can be especially hazardous for pets. During heavy snowfall, keep your dog on a leash during walks and add some colorful identifying tags to the collar. Also, be wary of melting ice; it can be very painful for dogs to walk over and is potentially toxic if ingested.

Exercise Caution When Shoveling
Shoveling is a necessity, but it’s also an easy way to throw out your back and even induce a heart attack. Remember to take constant breaks and stay hydrated.

Layer Up
Wearing three to four layers of clothing is the most effective way to insulate your body. Packing on some light-weight jackets or vests underneath a winter coat and wind breaker will allow you to tolerate the winter chill. Do not forget hats and earmuffs to keep warm.

Never Use a Generator Indoors
If you have an alternative power source such as a generator, make sure not to use it inside, even if it’s located in a basement, garage, or crawlspace. The fumes it creates contain carbon monoxide, which can be especially dangerous to children, the elderly, and pets.

Stay Inside
Staying off the roads and remaining indoors is the best way to avoid winter hazards, but once the wind and the snow taper off, don’t be afraid to step outside and enjoy the snow.

Watch for Frostbite and Hypothermia
Symptoms for hypothermia include dizziness, exhaustion, and severe shivering. Symptoms for frostbite include numbness; flushed gray, white, blue, or yellow skin discoloration; or waxy-feeling skin. If you think you’re afflicted with either, call 911.

With the pending BLIZZARD, it will be very difficult to find fire hydrants in an emergency. Although we eventually get to hydrants after a storm, the blizzard will create a two-day event for us to get to all of the hydrants.

For safety sake, PLEASE shovel the snow from the hydrants near your house.

Please read this flyer regarding COVID-19 vaccine scams. As vaccine distribution begins, there may be some scammers out there that will take advantage of the unsuspecting public.

It is very important that fire hydrants are clear of snow and ice after a snow storm. The time lost for the fire department to find a fire hydrant could mean the difference between a small fire in a house or a house that is no longer habitable.

Please clear fire hydrants near your house or business of snow and ice. If done properly, the hydrant should look like this.

To all children and adults alike, Santa Claus is coming to town!!

The North Pole contacted the Smithfield Fire Department to ask if Santa Claus could visit the Town of Smithfield. We said YES!

We asked why the North Pole was contacting the fire department. We were told that Santa Claus wants to ride on one of our fire trucks and visit all the citizens of Smithfield. We said OK, we can do that.

We are working with Santa Claus’s Chief Elf to schedule Santa Claus to ride through town on a fire truck. The schedule will be out soon. You will be able to see when Santa Claus will be visiting your neighborhood.

Keep an eye on our Twitter account @SmithfieldFIRE. SANTA’s SCHEDULE TO VISIT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD WILL BE OUT SOON!!

The top three days of the year for home candle fires are Christmas, New Year’s Day, and New Year’s Eve.

• Only use decorations that are flame-retardant or not flammable.
• Check holiday lights each year for frayed wires or excessive wear.
• Don’t link more than three strands of holiday lights.
• Never leave a burning candle unattended. Consider using battery-operated flameless candles.
• Keep your live Christmas tree away from heat sources and room exits.
• Water your live Christmas tree daily to keep it from becoming dry.

By Chief Robert W. Seltzer

Passage of a $4.5 million bond referendum on November 6^th will enable the Town of Smithfield to build a fire station in the Route 116/Route 7 north end of town. This investment not only provides much needed service to the area, but also offers benefits for the entire town.

For the duration of time that the Greenville and Esmond/Georgiaville fire & rescue apparatus are answering alarms in the north end of town, those areas are being left without fire & rescue service.

If an incident occurs in Greenville or Esmond/Georgiaville while crews are north on Route 116, it takes 12 minutes to get back to the south end of town. The increase in response time issue now flips from the north end of town to the south end of town.

By building a new fire station in the northern part of town, the south end apparatus will not have to cover both the northern and southern ends because apparatus will already be in place to respond.

The new fire station will allow fire & rescue resources to be located throughout the entire town so that all areas of town receive appropriate response times and available resources.

• Response times in areas of Smithfield currently served by a fire station are 4 to 6 minutes. Response times in areas of Smithfield currently NOT served by a fire station are 8 to 14 minutes.
• The new fire station will bring the 8 to 14 minute response times in the north end of town down to 4 to 6 minutes.
• The new fire station will improve our insurance underwriter’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating also known as the Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating. This results in savings for homeowners and business insurance rates in every part of the Town of Smithfield.

Everyone in the Town of Smithfield deserves the same level of Emergency Services regardless of where they live or where their business is located!