Hearthlist Digest #94 - Monday, January 12, 1998 Re: Ice Storm by Tex <[email protected]> Ice Storm Disaster by John Gulland <[email protected]>
(back) Subject: Re: Ice Storm From: Tex <[email protected]> (by way of [email protected] (Craig Issod)) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 16:15:03 +0100 Subject - Ice Storms in the East From: Tex McLeod, HPAC Date: Mon. Jan. 12 As part of my housing consulting business I found myself driving to Ottawa last Monday morning, yes that's right, foolishly driving through the first stages of the ice storm of the century. I worked through the week at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corpoaration (CMHC) amid power outages and building and road closures. After five days of seeming never ending ice rain (accumulating up to 1 1/2 inches of ice on trees and powerlines), the clouds finally broke up late Friday evening and on Saturday morning I was able to set off for home in Toronto. I drove through a devastated landscape of shattered trees, downed powerlines and cold and damaged houses, feeling helpless and saddened by what I was witnessing. After reaching the 401 highway and clearing the major ice damaged area (just west of Kingston), I was struck by the long lines of utility vehicles, telephnone repair vans, electricians trucks with ladders and generators, army personel and equipment and tanker transports ferrying drinking water. With a lump in my throat I realized they were all headed towards eastern Ontario and Quebec (similar occurances were undoubtedly taking plance in New England and upstate New York) as I was on my way west. I'm embarrassed to admit, that only at that point did the reality of the situation finally hit home. I'm not satisfied with my own ability to recognize and respond to this situation and correspondingly, I'm not sure if as an industry we have got it together to assume the important role / response this kind of disaster requires. It is a fine line between coping with inconveniece and a major disaster. Not having the answers, I will instead pose some thoughts and questions and hope this fosters some ongoing dialogue to better prepare us for future. 1) Do any of us particpate or dialogue with the emergency measures coordinators in our communities, advising them of our capacity to assist in an emergency? 2) Do you or your staff have available clear understandings/instructions on how one can operate pellet stoves or gas fireplaces/spaceheaters with electonic ignitions at times of major power outages? 3) Could for example, our mobile displays, trade show model units be made available to heat a nursing home / emergency shelter or cook meals, heat water at a time of major calamity? 4) Specifically in the US, what are the implications of trying to heat homes for days on end with unvented gas appliances? 5) Should HPA - HPAC prepare a discussion paper for industry, which in turn could lead to a consumer brochure on the use of hearth products in an emergency situation? 6) Are members of our industry increasing costs (price gouging) for fuel supplies / equipment / installations in times such as these? I am very struck by the important role that wood heating systems can play in rural areas to respond to emergencies; the images of homeowners lining up in small Quebec towns for their daily ration of 15 pieces of firewood that was on the news last night will stay with me for a while. On the other hand, I am very concerned that hearth products mis-used or mis-handled could become part of the problem. I suggest we have a role to play to ensure our continued status as a white knight. I trust everyone will be gearing up to respond to consumer concerns / needs in the coming weeks, our complacency regarding home heating got a wake-up call this week in this part of the world. Since Friday the temperatures have fallen dramatically and word has just come down of a pending snow storm for Tuesday. To all of you who find yourselves in the thick of it, stay warm, keep up the good work and God bless. Cheers Tex
(back) Subject: Ice Storm Disaster From: John Gulland <[email protected]> (by way of [email protected] (Craig Issod)) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 16:16:04 +0100 We're living through a disaster here in the Northeast. It is huge, covering Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime provinces and five states in the Northeast US. The scale of the tragedy is hard to comprehend. I live on a hundred acres of bush and as I look out my window, I can't see a tree that has not sustained damage. The non-stop sound of crashing of trees last week as I walked down my long driveway was terrifying. Here in the hills to the West of the Ottawa Valley, we lost electrical power for about 75 hours and phone service for 48 hours over the past week. But we've been fortunate compared to those south and east of us, where hundreds of thousands of homes have been without electricity for a solid week. And now the weather has turned very cold. What made the difference between inconvenience and emergency for many people was their wood stoves. My house, of course, has been warm and comfortable throughout and we've managed rudimentary cooking on it too. Watching people on TV shivering in their cold homes is heartbreaking, and the shelters that many have escaped to are getting crowded and tense. While this may not be the right time for our industry to collectively delight in the prospects for increased wood stove sales, it is appropriate to reflect on the role of wood as a strategic fuel in times of crisis, and perhaps on the role of our industry in supporting people in using wood effectively. Media commentators repeatedly mention three things: how frail is the infrastructure that supports our comfortable (lavish in global terms) lifestyle; second, is this storm linked to global warming/climate change, or el nino; and third, how people are protecting their families from the disaster (wood stoves tend to top the list, with portable generators a close second). As I look around at the devastation of the forest, it has occurred to me that we are about to reap the largest harvest of firewood in history. We are talking about hundreds, maybe thousands, of square miles of smashed trees, many of them high quality hardwoods. Left in the bush, these trees will decompose, releasing their carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Those same trees processed into firewood and used to heat houses would represent a massive reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by displacing the consumption of fossil fuels. Properly processed, there would be many years of supply. I have begun speaking with colleagues about how we might help promote such an idea and other things that our industry might do to support people in their efforts to increase the security of their homes and the safety of their families. I doubt we can be of much emergency assistance, but in the aftermath, perhaps we can make some useful suggestions and take some helpful actions. If any of you have comments on this or suggestions for useful action, I'd like to hear from you. Best regards, John This is for business: http://www.gulland.ca This is for pleasure: http://www.wood-heat.com