The Red Cross has activated volunteers across central and northern Missouri in preparation for more cold weather.
The organization has issued cold-weather home, vehicle and personal safety tips, such as:
- Keep cell phones charged
- Make sure you have a full tank of gas
- Use care with space heaters — the Red Cross reports increased fire risk during cold temperatures because people use alternative sources of heat, especially during power outages.
Rebecca Gordon is the executive director for the Red Cross of Central and Northern Missouri. She says volunteers are activated and on stand-by as cold weather comes in across the region.
z'As the weather continues to get worse, and it’s going to get colder, what we do is we work with our emergency departments all through our 27 counties in central and northern Missouri,” Gordon said. “We’ve put our volunteers — we’ve activated them, so that if there is a need that we are ready to respond to any sort of emergency that might arise.”
The Red Cross has also issued public-safety tips for keeping pets safe in cold weather. Gordon says to bring pets inside and to remember some snow and ice preparations for driveways and sidewalks are not good for pets’ feet.
And one last piece of advice from Gordon:
“Another big tip: Take the opportunity this weekend in that cold weather to snuggle your pup and watch some movies.”
