Dear Residents and Business Owners,

The weather forecast says that winter will be visiting us this weekend. The following are some specific steps we are asking residents and business owners to review:

• We are in our winter parking time of year; this means no overnight parking on roadways.
• To avoid unnecessary shoveling, please wait to shovel sidewalks and the end of your driveway until snow has stopped and the DPW is finished plowing your road (usually a couple of hours once the snow has stopped).
• Please do not shovel or snow blow snow back into the road, this creates a dangerous situation when re-freezing.
• Residents and business owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalk on their property. This is for the safety of pedestrians and to avoid the need to walk in the street.
• It is important to call in a power outage. Crews are prioritized and dispatched according to customer facility type and a few other factors, including aggregate exposure or the total number of residential customers out in a particular area. Residents should not assume the event has been reported if they believe a neighbor called or logged the outage. 
• Please try and keep your fire hydrants clear of snow to help the Fire Department in the case of an emergency. 
• Keep at least one path to the entrance of your house (garage, side or front door, etc.) clear for emergency access.  

Winter Storm Preparation Tips

• Keep a flashlight and extra batteries handy. 
• Have extra blankets or a sleeping bag for each person.
• Do not use gas stoves, grills or other open-flame appliances as a heat source. They could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to build up in your home.
• Use care when burning candles; open flames are a dangerous fire hazard.
• Follow your manufacturer’s instructions for the operation of a backup generator to ensure you know how to use it safely.
• If you have a water well and pump, keep an emergency supply of bottled water.
• If your home has an electric range, stock an emergency supply of convenience foods that do not require cooking. Don’t forget a can opener!
• Keep a battery-powered radio with extra batteries on hand. Also, have a car charger or battery-charging pack handy to recharge your cell phone in case of an emergency.
• Assemble a first-aid kit.

Have a hard-wired telephone available to report an emergency. A plain, hard-wired phone can operate on power delivered through the phone line. Do NOT talk on a hard-wired telephone during a storm – telephone lines can conduct electricity, too.

How to Report a Power Outage

If you should lose power, don’t rely on your neighbors to report it. Customer outage reports help our crews identify damaged locations and restore power faster. Report your outage using one of the following options:

• Text OUT to 544487. If you’re not enrolled in text messaging, text REG to 544487 to get started.
• Report online at firstenergycorp.com/outages
• Call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877)

Immediately report downed power lines to 911. Stay at least 30 feet away from a downed or low-hanging power line, even if you think it's no longer carrying electricity. Use extra caution where lines are tangled in trees or other debris.

Outage updates, including cause, estimated restoration time and crew status, are available on our 24/7 Power Center Maps, by texting STAT to 544487 or by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877).

For more tips and information to prepare in advance of severe weather, visit www.firstenergycorp.com/storm_info
If you have questions regarding your account, please call 1-800-662-3115.

Stay safe Mendham Borough

Sincerely,

Mayor Jim Kelly