Dispose of Fireplace Ashes Properly

Fifteen years ago this week, a huge fire engulfed an entire apartment building at the Chase Pointe Apartments in Virginia Beach, leaving 35 people homeless.  The anniversary comes on the heels of a deadly Christmas Day house fire in Stamford, Connecticut, that killed a couple and three grandchildren.  Investigators found both fires were caused by improperly discarded fireplace ashes.

It's a mistake that apparently is made all too often.  The National Fire Protection Agency reports that improperly handled fireplace ashes cause hundreds of house fires every year.

The problem, experts say, are the embers, which can smolder for three to four days after a fireplace fire.  The smoldering embers, insulated by a blanket of ash, allowed early man to transport fire from place to place, according to the Fireplace Channel.

In the 1996 fire in Virginia Beach, fireplace ash was left in a plastic bucket on a third floor balcony.  In this week's fatal fire in Connecticut, the ash container was placed just outside the door.

To dispose of fireplace ash properly, the National Fire Protection Agency recommends the following:

"Allow ashes to cool before disposing. Dispose of ashes in a tightly covered metal container and keep the ash container at least 10 feet away from the home and any other nearby buildings. Douse and saturate the ashes with water." (boldface added for emphasis)

Incidentally, the 1996 fire was the first of three over a nine year period at the Chase Pointe Apartments, according to the Virginian-Pilot archives.


Here's another story on those fires.


Links:
www.thefireplacechannel.com/woodashes.html
www.leduc.ca/City_Government/Departments/Fire_Services/Safety/Fireplace_Ashes.htm

Update: Ice Scrapers as Stocking Stuffers

I'm guessing my mother read last week's post suggesting ice scrapers as a last minute Christmas gift.  Every adult in the family got an ice scraper from Mom...my wife and I got once each.

I would suggest a big screen TV as a great gift idea, but Mom's too smart for that.

AAA Tow to Go Promotes Holiday Safety on the Road

The AAA Tidewater Virginia and Budweiser are teaming up again this holiday season for their "Tow to Go" sober driving campaign.  Now through 6am New Year's Day, the AAA is offering free rides home to anyone who has had too much to drink to driving safely.  The driver's car is also towed home, free of charge.

The program is available to anyone in Hampton Roads, even those who are not AAA members.  To find out more, call (757) 631-1700 or 1-800-AAA-HELP.

Learn more about Tow to Go and other AAA traffic safety programs here.

Crowbar: Bad Choice for Scraping the Windshield

Need a last minute idea for a stocking stuffer?  Consider giving an ice scraper.

It seems that a lot of people lack this most basic need for road safety during the winter.  An image search for unusual methods of scraping ice off car windows finds people using a credit card, a college ID, a snow shovel, and, most ironically, a tube of sun screen.


To further emphasize the point, Glass Doctor of Virginia Beach sent over a list of do's and don'ts for getting the windows frost free.  The tools they advise not using:  hot water, keys, vinegar, a blow torch, and a crowbar.

Eight Do's and Don'ts for De-icing the Windshield, courtesy of Glass Doctor.

DO: Pour cold water to gradually melt the ice on a “sealed,” frozen door.

DON’T: Pour hot water on the vehicle's windshield and windows to melt the ice. The extreme temperature change can cause the glass to break.

DO: Start the vehicle and use the defroster setting to warm the glass. Wait at least five minutes for the glass to warm up.

DON’T: Try to “unseal” the door by using a hair dryer, cigarette lighter, ice pick, screwdriver, propane torch or portable heater.

DO: Use a plastic ice scraper and a soft plastic bristle brush or broom to clear the ice once it starts melting. A squeegee also helps.

DON’T: Scrape the ice off the windshield with a metal ice scraper, key, spatula, utility knife or crowbar. The metal scratches and cuts grooves in the glass.

DO: Make sure no ice or snow is obstructing the vehicle’s tailpipe. If it is covered, remove the ice or snow to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.

DON’T: Pour a mixture of vinegar and water on the windshield. Vinegar eats pits into the windshield glass.

Update on the Adderall Shortage

The Food and Drug Administration has a webpage devoted to all current drug shortages.  In case you're wondering, the API in "API supply issues" stands for "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient."

Click here for the FDA's drug shortage page.

My thanks to Michelle Peregoy at the Virginia Department of Health for providing the link.

Click here to read to full post on the shortage of the ADHD medication, Adderall.

Combating Drinking and Driving

Drunk driving in America, by the numbers.

• 900 -- Number of people killed in in a drunk driving accident during the 2009 holidays.
• 10,839 -- Number of people killed in a drunk driving accident for the entire year of 2009.
• 10 -- Average number of minutes between drunk driving accidents in America.
• 33 -- Percentage of Americans who will be involved in a drunk driving accident in their lifetimes.

Those statistics and many others are available from MADD, the nationwide non-profit that is leading the effort to reduce incidents of impaired driving.  I could continue to quote DUI statistics, but they would lack the impact of the stories behind the numbers.  Sadly, one of those stories happened recently in Hampton Roads.

On December 4th, Sierra Smith and Kimberly Brin were passengers in a car that was hit head-on by an SUV that was going the wrong way on Interstate 64 in Hampton.  The two teenagers, both students at Christopher Newport University, were killed.  The Virginia State Police say Jessie Evans, a 33 year old Army staff sergeant from Newport News, was driving drunk.  And, according to court records, Evans may have been a repeat offender.  He has a court hearing later this month on a suspected DUI from September.

Mike Goodove, the President of the Hampton Roads chapter of MADD, says people who drive after drinking demonstrate a lack of personal responsibility and a lack of understanding of the impact of getting caught.  In Virginia, a drunk driving first offense a class-one misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.  It becomes a felony following a third DUI offense.

Hear my interview with Mike Goodove

Podcast Powered By Podbean

MADD recently gave Virginia's DUI laws 4 out 5 stars.  Virginia missed a perfect score because the law does not require an ignition interlock for cars owned by first time offenders.  The interlock would lock the controls of the car if it detects alcohol on the driver's breath.  MADD and the State Police will push for such a law at the next General Assembly.

Because so many people will attend parties to celebrate Christmas, New Year's Eve, or football games, MADD considers the holiday season the worst time of the year for drunk drivers.  A state trooper once told me that during the holidays, for every 10 drivers he sees on the road after dark, he assumes one of them is drunk.

MADD recommends that party goers plan ahead on how they will get home.  Goodove recommends a designated driver for groups of people.  Or have the phone number of a local taxi company handy.  Goodove says the cost of a taxi ride is nothing compared to the risk of driving a car after drinking.

To contact the Hampton Roads chapter of MADD, call 757-412-1004.  Or visit the website of the national organization at www.MADD.org.

Where Has All the Adderall Gone?

Adderall, a drug used by millions (including a person in my household) to help them deal with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is for some reason in short supply.  And the shortage has been going since before  Halloween.

I first noticed the shortage in early November, when our local Rite Aid reported it was out of our usual dosage.    They did, however, have a smaller dosage, which prompted me to contact the doctor to get a revised prescription.

Six weeks later, Rite Aid is still out of the standard 20mg tablet.  A pharmacist told me there might be one Rite Aid in the entire city that has that dose of Adderall in stock.

What's causing the shortage?  The answer isn't clear.  Some doctors are blaming the fact that more people, at least 5 million, are using Adderall, and the numbers are growing by five percent a year.  Manufacturers blame a shortage of Adderall's active ingredient, amphetamine, which is controlled by the Food and Drug Administration.

Another possibility:  drug abusers.  Adderall is said to be a favorite for students studying for exams.  It's also said to be a replacement drug for oxycodone addicts.   

One article I found suggested there was a shortage of generic Adderall but that the name-brand drug was available.  I found just the opposite at my local drug stores:  they were out of Adderall but had the generic version.

Whatever the reason for the shortage, no one seems to know when it will end.  I've read that pharmaceutical companies will sometimes make 12 to 36 months worth of a single drug at once and then re-tool for a different drug, so it may be a while before Adderall supplies catch up with demand.  Until it does end, expect to see me calling around to various pharmacies every couple of months, trying to refill a prescription.

Poinsettia: Not Poisonous. Mistletoe: Poisonous

It's a question that arises every Christmas:  are poinsettia plants poisonous?  In spite of the widely held belief that they are, the fact is, eating a poinsettia will, at most, give a person an upset stomach.

It's a myth that dates back almost a hundred years.  It's said to have started in Hawaii in 1919, when the two year old child of an Army officer died of poisoning.  It was incorrectly assumed she had eaten poinsettia leaves.  According to WebMD.com, a person would have to eat 500 leaves to even get sick.

However, other traditional holiday decorations ARE poisonous.  Some species of mistletoe are toxic.  Holly plants are poisonous throughout; eating the berries could cause severe stomach problems.

WebMD.com has an excellent article on what Christmas plants are toxic and which are not.

More links:
WebMD on the toxicity of poinsettia.
Snopes.com on poinsettias
National Institutes on Health on mistletoe

Generic Lipitor is Coming Soon

The nation's top-selling drug, the anti-cholesterol medication Lipitor, will soon be available in generic form.  Pfizer's patent on the name-brand form of Lipitor expired on November 30th.

By law, generic drugs must contain the same active ingredients as their name-band cousins and be as effective.  Generics are also less expensive.  Lipitor, which costs about $150.00 per month, could sell for a fraction of that amount in generic form.

As I reported last May, Lipitor is but the first of several best-selling drugs that will soon be available in generic form.  Generic versions of drugs for blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, depression, high triglycerides, HIV and bipolar disorder are expected on the market in the next 12 months.

A drug company's patent on a new drug is good for 20 years, beginning before clinical trials.  Drugs go through years of extensive study before being approved for sale to the public.  A name-brand drug's active life on the market under patent protection generally lasts seven and twelve years.

Refunds on the Way

Dominion Virginia Power is refunding more than $78 million dollars that customers overpaid over the past couple of years.  The State Corporation Commission reports that refund checks will average about $17.00.

Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service reports it has $153 million dollars in unclaimed refund checks.  Agency officials said most of the refunds could not be delivered to taxpayers because they had filed returns with incorrect addresses. 

Are you eligible?  You can check the IRS's "Where's My Refund?" website.  You'll want to have last year's tax return handy when you look.