Inspection Of Heating Appliances Encouraged After Earthquake

In the aftermath of the 5.8 earthquake and multiple aftershocks that hit the East Coast Aug. 23, the City of Falls Church Fire Marshal and the Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office are advising residents to be aware of possible damage of chimneys, gas or fuel oil lines and tanks, and heating equipment as overall structural integrity may have been compromised. These components may not show visible damage. Individuals are advised to contact licensed inspectors if they have concerns regarding these or any other potential post-earthquake issues.

This is good advice for anyone in the quake zone. Recommended earthquake fire safety guidelines from the U.S. Fire Administration can be found here.

Links

U.S. Fire Administration

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Kelly Faloon was a former editor of Plumbing & Mechanical as well as the BNP Media Plumbing Group’s Integrated Content Development Specialist. She also was a former editor of the Radiant Comfort Guide the Radiant & Hydronics Report — both official publications of the Radiant Professionals Alliance — and twice-monthly Radiant & Hydronics eNews, an enewsletter for anyone interested in the world of heating with hot water.

Her editorial specialties included women in plumbing, recruiting for the trades, green construction techniques, water conservation, water treatment, hydronic heating, radiant heating and cooling, snow melt, solar thermal and geothermal.

After a 3½-year stint at sister publication Supply House Times, Faloon joined the PM staff in December 2001 as senior editor. She was named PM’s managing editor in 2006 and editor in 2013.

Previously, she spent nearly 10 years at CCH, a publishing firm specializing in business and tax law, where she wore many hats — proofreader, writer/editor for a daily tax publication, and Internal Revenue Code editor.

A native of Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula, Faloon is a 1986 journalism graduate of Michigan State University.