HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) – The Huber Heights fire department has a program where they give people in need carbon monoxide detectors.
Fire Chief Mark Ashworth says since the incident in Troy, they’ve gotten so many calls for the detectors they’ve run out of them.
He says they plan on getting more, but they want to keep educating people on the importance of having them in their homes.
“We seem to be having a disconnect with the local communities on the importance of carbon monoxide detectors,” said Ashworth. “Some of its cost driven. Carbon monoxide detectors are a little more expensive than what a standard smoke detector is.”
Ashworth said they have not seen an increase in the amount of CO related calls they’ve gotten.
“We typically see about 1-2 carbon monoxide calls a week. Many of these are what we call false calls, but we would rather people call us for any reason if they think they’re having carbon monoxide issues,” said Ashworth.
Regardless of if a home has a CO detector of not, fire fighters go to each scene prepared. That includes equipment that tells whether or not a person has been exposed to CO.
“Its colorless, its odorless. There is no other way to tell if someone has been exposed to CO,” said Lieutenant John Russell with Huber Height fire department. “As we’ve seen what happened in Troy the last week, there’s CO present in certain atmospheres and certain environment and its important to know that so we can take them to the appropriate facility and get them to the appropriate care.”
Russell said they also have CO detectors on the bags they take in to every call they respond to.
“We enter environments we’re unsure of the environment. If you go in on an illness and you’re not sure what’s happening this things alarms and tells us that we’re in the presence of CO. We’re going to change the way we do things. We’re going to get the people out of the environment. We’re going to get ourselves out of the environment,” said Russell.
CO is known as the silent killer, so fire fighters say its important to put detectors near sleeping areas to alert people if carbon monoxide levels start to rise while they’re asleep.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Five Rivers MetroParks will host its 20th Miami Valley Garden Conference Saturday at Sinclair Community College.
Even if you don’t have a lot of space, you can still grow vegetables and garden, said Adult Education Supervisor from Wegerzyn MetroPark Betty Hoevel.
Thomas Rainer will deliver the morning keynote, “The American Garden in a Post-Wild World.” Rainer is a registered landscape architect, teacher and writer and a passionate advocate for design that doesn’t imitate nature but interprets it. He has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and The New York Botanical Garden.
The afternoon keynote is Kelly Norris, an award-winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the first horticulture manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a newly revitalized 14-acre public garden in Des Moines, Iowa. A rising star in American horticulture, Kelly’s book, A Guide to Bearded Irises, won the 2013 American Horticultural Society’s book award. His topic will be “Dig This: Stylish Gardening for Savvy Gardeners.”
To register and find more information visit http://www.metroparks.org/Parks/WegerzynGarden/MVGardeningConference.aspx?jmid=246&j=312534952 or call 275-PARK.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (MEDIA GENERAL) – With just 16 days until spring, much of the country is counting down to warmer temperatures. Areas of the Midwest and Northeast will see 40 degrees soon. But, will it last? We spoke to meteorologists in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Michigan to get the answer.
Are we turning the corner toward better weather?
“Our winter weather pattern seems to finally be turning a corner,” meteorologist Nick Bannin at WWLP in Springfield, Massachusetts told us. However, Bannin is cautious to get ahead of himself. Western New England has seen accumulating snow as late as the final week of May, he said.
“I am expecting the pattern to ease up a bit, but not completely!” Gil Simmons WTNH meteorologist in Connecticut told us. “I still think there will be some colder than average temperatures at the end of the month after a brief thaw.”
In Michigan, WOOD TV8 meteorologist Matt Kirkwood tends to agree. Despite a warm-up in the next week featuring temperatures in the 40’s, it appears colder air will return. “The end of March and beginning of April will likely feature colder than average temperatures,” Kirkwood said.
Records set
This past month was the coldest February in 180 years of record keeping in Western Massachusetts. Western Michigan is coming off its coldest February on record as well and fourth coldest winter month ever. There have been only 13 days this year that West Michigan has seen above freezing temperatures.
Bottom line
According to Nick Bannin in Massachusetts there is definitely some good news. “It seems the constant cold and weekly snow storm pattern has ended. “
As for Matt Kirkwood in Michigan, “At this stage of the game I do not see when we will consistently break into warmer temperatures and hold the pattern.”
Simmons in Connecticut joked when asked if the pattern will ever end. “I have been telling people June! Just kidding! The pattern still looks active and at times colder than normal at the end of the month,” he said.
What’s next?
Many of the meteorologists told us what happens next is key. There could be flooding problems. But, it all depends on what happens. “The existing snow has between one and eight inches of water equivalent,” Simmons told us about the situation in Connecticut. “This is a major flood concern if a rapid meltdown happens.”
“Ice has frozen across many of our largest rivers and a quick melt along with lots of rain could cause some ice jams in the rivers and create flooding concerns in the Spring. However, a gradual melt with lighter rainfall would provide lesser concerns for flooding,” Bannin said from Massachusetts.
In Michigan, the rivers are the same way. However, Kirkwood told us he doesn’t see heavy rain in the forecast right now which alleviates the chances for serious flooding.
