SWANTON, Ohio — The brutally cold weather is heading to northwest Ohio this weekend and with high winds comes a high possibility of power outages.
When it comes to keeping warm, there are options if your power goes out, but it's important to stay safe.
"A lot of people have generators as a backup source of heat or power," Bowling Green Fire Chief Bill Moorman said. "But what they need to do is make sure those generators are set up properly, but have the generator outside with an extension cord coming in."
You could also use a space heater, but there are some warnings that come along with using them.
"These heaters get hot, especially the electric heaters," Moorman said. "Make sure you keep any combustibles three feet away from those heaters. Never let children close to the heaters because they can leave some nasty burns."
Moorman says his fire crews have responded to a few chimney fires recently.
John Luce, owner of Luce's Chimney and Stove Shop in Swanton, says people need to make sure their fireplace is ready for the winter season.
"With a wood-burning fireplace or stove, you want to start off with a chimney inspection make sure you have a clean chimney before you start using it," Luce said. "You want to use dry seasoned hardwood."
While you can inspect your chimney yourself, experts like Luce can use cameras to go up and check.
"It can reveal if there are any problems inside the chimney or any cracks, any blockages, things like that, and then we can get it corrected," Luce said.
If you do use a fireplace, make sure to clean out the ashes.
"If you can dig a hole in your garden for your ashes that's the best because those coals can stay alive for a long time, come back to life, and then start a fire," Luce said. "So you don't want to just throw them in your dumpster or something like that."