Fire Safety: Get Ready for Heating Season

​When the weather turns chilly, it’s tempting to use your oven as a heat source, warm your clothes on the space heater, and not bother with a furnace inspection. But things could go wrong very quickly in all three of those scenarios.

In our latest blog, you’ll learn some safety tips now that heating season is rolling around. Check it out for a warm house and some peace of mind.

First MNOPS Inspector Begins Work in Massachusetts

Our first inspector from the Office of Pipeline Safety is on the ground in Massachusetts overseeing a crew of workers installing new pipelines in neighborhoods devastated last month by a series of natural gas explosions.

Thousands of homes and businesses remain without natural gas service, making cooking and staying warm difficult.

Five of our inspectors will travel to Merrimack Valley over the next three weeks to help ensure the new pipelines are safely installed, important work with winter weather just around the corner. Their travel to Massachusetts was authorized by Gov. Mark Dayton as part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which allows states to offer resources and assist each other during emergencies.

Residents are using generators for heating and cooking. Workers order lunch — pizza on Monday — from restaurants outside the affected area since most within a 2-mile radius still do not have natural gas and are not operational. Check back for regular updates from our pipeline inspectors.