ROANOKE, Va. – Thousands of people woke up Friday morning without power and some without heat.
According to Census data, a little over 45% of homes are heated by electricity. During a power outage, residents often have to find other ways of heating their homes.
Northwest ACE Hardware off Williamson Road in Roanoke has some options when it comes to heating – most of their heaters are run on electricity but they also carry kerosene and propane heaters.
Randy Peregoy has been the manager of the store for almost eight years and said a lot of people began to prepare for a potential outage earlier in the week.
“We started out the week this week with just about 15 kerosene heaters. As the storm news progressed along people picked up their purchases…we easily sold out of those this morning,” Peregoy said.
The store has a propane tank in the back and throughout the day Friday, several people came by needing to fill up their own tanks to take back home.
“Throughout the day today, we’ve seen a lot of propane refills. People refilling their propane tanks naturally to run the apparatuses they have at home that need that to provide the heat,” Peregoy said.
Peregoy said some people during a power outage will panic and suggested residents call Appalachian Electric Power or other providers when the power does go out.
While many of the calls he gets are about heaters, some people are looking for other essentials.
“People get a little concerned … they start venturing out and looking for those resource items. Another good resource item and we’ve had a lot of calls on today is flashlights and batteries,” Peregoy said.
ACE Hardware will stock up to make sure they can provide assistance the next time people need to weather the storm.
During the cold winter months, crews say they respond to more house fires. For more tips on how to heat your home safely during the holidays, click here.