With our storm "Sandy" upon us, we will be in for many surprises. Many of us will lose power, water, heat, etc......

For those of us who will be fortunate to either still have power and other amenities which we take for granted, there is something which you should know.

The wind will be between 40-80 mph and this may cause you to lose heat and/or hot water. For those of you who have "pilots" on your water heaters and furnaces, keep long stem matches on hand. The wind can blow down the vent pipe and take out the pilot flame like a birthday candle.

I have been on many service calls which I felt were unnecessary becasuse of an unlit pilot.

Furthermore, if you have a furnace and/or water heater with another type of ignition, it is also possible to lose flame. High winds can blow thru pipes (creating an abnormal pressure). This shuts the appliance OFF. This may happen (depending on the manufacturer) several times. If (for say) on the third time your appliance doesn't light it may go into "lockout" mode. Should this occur you can try to revive the system "if" you turn off the power switch to the furnace/water heater for a few minutes. This will reset the computer within and maybe you will be back in business.

I hope this helps.