The Tulsa Health Department shares cold weather safety tips | News

TULSA, Okla. — As cold weather sweeps across Tulsa, the Tulsa Health Department shared some cold weather tips to keep you safe during this winter season.

“The housing code that we work off of in the City of Tulsa requires that all livable spaces be a minimum of 65 degrees and it is important to remember that the safe heat can be a floor furnace or it can be like your central heat and air unit, but if that goes down and you are starting to look at back up, kind of an emergency sort of a situation, to remember how to stay safe in those situations,” said Kendra Wise, Manager of Environmental Health Services for the Tulsa Heart Department.

Many people might find themselves reaching for space heaters to provide them with warmth, but Wise stated it’s important to take safety precautions. 

“So if you have to resort to space heaters to help keep your home warm to plug the space heater directly into the wall and not use extension cords, to make sure that you have a space heater that if it tips over, it’ll turn off. It has an automatic shut off and to make sure that you keep items away from that space heater, so it won’t catch on fire.”

Wise also said it’s important to read the label on the space heater and ensure you’re using it in the proper setting. Some heaters are made to be used only in garages or in highly ventilated areas.

Wise emphasized it’s essential people don’t use their stoves to heat their homes.

“It’s amazing how many times I do housing inspections this time of year that I find people using stoves, like their cooking stoves, to heat their homes or their apartment. So whether it’s a gas or electric, it is very dangerous to use your cooking stove to heat your home.”

Ultimately, Wise said the biggest protection you can give your family is making sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are working.

“Your biggest protection is making sure that your smoke detectors are working, so that if one of these emergency situations happens that you can get out of the house safely because that’s really what’s most important is getting the family out of the house.”

Wise said that if the power goes out in your home, you should never use a generator inside your house or even in your garage due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Wise explained the Tulsa Health Department is also there to help if people who live in rented spaces are struggling to get their homes properly heated.

“Landlords are required to provide safe heat, those livable spaces again have to be 65 degrees or warmer, and if you are renting a property, whether it’s a home or an apartment and your normal heat source stops working, there’s help. You can reach out to get help to get that taken care of…If we come across a home where safe heat is not being provided and if the property manager, owner, refuses to fix the issue, then we can help connect those tenants with services throughout the community to get them connected to maybe a safer living situation. We can get them connected with legal aids so that they have a way to hold those owners accountable.”

Wise advised that if you’re living in a rented structure that doesn’t meet the minimum heating standards to either fill out a complaint form online or to call the Tulsa Health Department at 918-595-4200. An environmental specialist will contact you and set up a time to do an inspection where they can gather all the needed information.

To learn more about the other services the Tulsa Health Department provides, you can visit their website at tulsa-health.org