1st Quarter 2016
Western New York SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 2006
ELMA MEETINGS - 7:00 PM 2nd Wednesday of Month Training and meetings are at the Elma Senior Center unless noted.
1st Quarter 2016
Tips for Operating your Furnace Safely and Efficiently
James Manley The winter season is upon us again and we rely on our furnace to keep us warm and cozy through these cold months. If you take care of your furnace, Elma Senior Center 3007 Bowen Road your furnace will take care of Elma, NY 14059 you. At the beginning of each heating season, vacuum dust from the Web: warm air registers throughout www.elmacert.org your home and keep heat furFacebook: nace registers free of obstrucElma Community Emergency tions. Response Team, Inc. Don’t store items nearby that might stop or restrict airflow. West Seneca Many gas furnaces use air from the indoors to operate. Lint, dust and pet hair carried by air, John Gullo or items stored in or around the Emergency Manager furnace can block or restrict air(716) 558-3238 flow. In order to operate safely jgullo@twsny.org and efficiently, your gas furnace must be kept free of dust and lint Meetings - 7:00 PM build-up and other obstructions 3rd Monday of the month stored near the furnace. Training and meetings are at the Never store or use flammable West Seneca School’s Ebenezer products, such as newspapers, Building flammable liquids or cleaning W. S. School Ebenezer Bldg. products near the furnace. 900 Mill Road Most forced-air furnaces have West Seneca, NY 14224 a filter that cleans the air beWatch website and Facebook for fore heating and circulating it training and meeting locations. throughout the home. Inspect your filter monthly for lint buildup during periods of furnace use. Web: Clean or replace the filter if necwww.wscert.net essary. Replacing filters often Facebook: can improve appliance efficienWest Seneca Cert cy and reduce your energy consumption.
When installing a new or cleaned filter, be sure to re-install the front panel door of the furnace properly so it fits snugly. Never operate the furnace without the front-panel door properly in place because doing so may create the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Most new forced-air furnaces have a safety (interlock) switch that prevents furnace operation when the filter compartment door/panel is not in place. Have your furnace tuned up every other year unless the manufacturer indicates otherwise. The contractor will test the efficiency, adjust the air and fuel flow, inspect the fan, and clean the unit. Check the outside vent pipes on high efficiency gas furnaces for ice or snow build-up. Blocking or restricting the airflow will cause the furnace to shut down. Driving Safety Tips at Railroad Crossings
1ST QUaRTER 2016
SAFETy TIPS AT rAILroAd croSSINGS Many drivers don’t think about rail crossings. It passes -- there may be another train approaching can be an everyday occurrence that you just drive on the second track. over them but by becoming more aware it can never drive around lowered gates and never save your life.
trains do not run on set schedules. they can be on any track, at any time. Always yield the right of way to the train. the train cannot yield to you.
When engineers see a vehicle or person on the tracks in the path of their train, they can only sound the warning horn and apply the emergency brakes. A train in emergency braking will stop, but not in time to avoid this collision. The average freight train consisting of 100 cars and weighing anywhere from 12 million to 20 million pounds takes over a mile to stop in emergency braking. There are brakes on every wheel, but it takes that long for all of those brakes to overcome the momentum of the tremendous weight pushing the train.
Crossing the tracks - Before starting across the tracks, be sure there’s room to get completely across.
Many crossings are on a surface higher than the roadway. If your vehicle is ever stalled or trapped on the tracks and a train is approaching, quickly get yourself and all other passengers out! Don’t try to take any other items with you. When the train strikes the vehicle it will send flying metal and glass ahead of and outward from the locomotive. Many people have been seriously injured and even killed because they ran the wrong direction. When crossing has more than one track, don’t try to cross immediately after the end of the train
ignore active warnings at crossings.
It’s illegal and deadly. If you suspect a signal is malfunctioning, call the 1-800 number posted on or near the crossing signal or your local law enforcement agency. More than half of all motor vehicle-train collisions occur at crossings equipped with the automatic signals. It’s because some drivers choose to drive around the gates or through the flashing red lights because they thought they could beat the train, assume a stopped train has activated the signals, or the signals are malfunctioning.
the train you see is closer and faster-moving than you think.
Locomotives are huge, and appear to be traveling much slower than we think when viewed from a slight angle at the crossing. The combination of the size and angle create this illusion. The parallel lines of the rails converging toward the horizon contribute to the illusion and fool our minds into thinking the train is farther away than it actually is. It is impossible to accurately judge the speed of a train when these combinations of illusions are present. Many drivers “overdrive their headlights.” This means driving too fast to be able to stop in the distance illuminated by your headlights. By the time you see the train at the crossing, it’s too late to avoid the crash. In other instances, there may be high levels of noise in the vehicle causing the driver to be inattentive and not noticing the train’s warning devices.
1ST QUaRTER 2016
stay off railroad property and stay safe.
Some people believe railroad tracks are public property Railroad tracks, railroad service roads, and other railroad right of way are often used by joggers, hikers, people walking their pets, or as a pathway to ride motorcycles or other all-terrain vehicles plus a wide variety of other activities. The danger with these activities on or near railroad tracks is these people are concentrating on their own activities not a train! Many joggers run with headphones and never hear the engineer’s warning. Motorized vehicle noise also drown out the locomotive horn. Many people who do not hear the warning fail to escape The Elma CERT participated in local events such the danger. More importantly, railroad tracks, as Elma’s Annual Pumpkin Fest located at Elma service roads, and right of way are private Town Park and Senior Center. property and only persons authorized by the railroads can be on that property. The Team also adopted a family for the Holiday Vehicle stalling on tracks season. At the December meeting members met If your vehicle ever stalls on a track with a train and wrapped the gifts. coming, get out immediately and move quickly away from the tracks in the direction from which the train is coming. If you run in the same direction the train is traveling, when the train hits your car you could be injured by flying debris. Call your local law enforcement agency for assistance. Information from Indiana Department of Transportation and Operation Lifesaver. More tips can be found at http://oli.org
West Seneca Office of Disaster Preparedness, The Fireman’s Memorial Exhibit Center and West Seneca CERT hosted well known Speaker Billy Goldfeder in September at West Seneca West High School. Billy spoke to a crowded auditorium of firemen and first responders.
1st Quarter 2016
Upcoming Training & Events Calendar January 13 Elma CERT meeting 18 West Seneca CERT Drill CERT ICS 100/Tabletop 23 Grow your Own Garden EMPact America of New York February 6 Pet First Aid - EMPact America of New York
What is carbon monoxide? • Loss of muscular coordiCarbon monoxide, also known nation as CO, is called the “Invisible • Loss of consciousness Killer” because it’s a colorless, • Ultimately death odorless, poisonous gas. More than 150 people in the Unites States die every year from accidental nonfire-related CO poisoning associated with consumer products, including generators. Other products include faulty, improperly-used or incorrectly-vented fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, stoves, water heaters and fire- Bring pets/companion animals places. inside during winter weather. From ready.gov
10 Elma CERT meeting 15 West Seneca CERT Drill Creekwatch March 9 Elma CERT meeting 14 West Seneca CERT Drill Shelter Drill April 2 Preparedness Classes & CERT EMPact America of New York 13 Elma CERT meeting 18 West Seneca CERT Drill Disaster Mental Health Response to Mass Disaster
Check websites for the teams Move other animals or live- news and events.
Know the symptoms of CO stock to sheltered areas with poisoning
Because CO is odorless, col- non-frozen drinking water. orless, and otherwise undetectable to the human senses, people may not know that they are being exposed. The initial symptoms of low to moderate CO poisoning are similar to the flu (but without the fever). They include: • Headache • Fatigue West Seneca CERT Drill in November covered the topic of Di• Shortness of breath saster Psychology. Bonnie Frazier from SMART was the speaker • Nausea Elma • Dizziness Sign up for Elma Code Red : High level CO poisoning rewww.elmanewyork.com sults in progressively more seSign up for Code Red to be West Seneca notified of emergency situvere symptoms, including: www.westseneca.net, wscert. ations or critical community • Mental confusion net and facebook page alerts. • Vomiting