When the Heat Goes Out,
Make the Call Early

The power goes out after dark. The furnace goes quiet. Somebody checks the utility map and says it should be back soon. That may be true. It still leaves you with a decision: can everyone in the house stay warm and safe until then?

Make that decision while you have options. When you’re cold, tired, and frustrated, it gets easier to mistake another half hour for a plan.

Start with the first ten minutes

Get a flashlight or headlamp. Check on everyone in the house. Find out whether anything that needs electricity for someone’s immediate safety has stopped working. Then check the utility’s outage information and report the outage if needed. Write down when the power went out and what the utility actually says. An estimate can change. If there is no estimate, write “unknown.”

Get warm layers and blankets out while the house still holds heat. Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Check the indoor temperature if you have a thermometer, and pay attention to whether the room is cooling and how people are doing. The National Weather Service’s winter storm preparation guide lists backup lighting, warm supplies, and working carbon monoxide alarms among the things to have ready before a storm.

Draw a hard line around unsafe heat

A cold room is a problem. Bringing a camp stove or grill inside can turn it into a much worse one. Don’t use a gas oven or stovetop to heat the house. Never run a portable generator in a garage, even with the door open. The CDC’s power outage guidance and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommend running portable generators outdoors, at least 20 feet from the house and from doors, windows, and vents, with exhaust pointed away from buildings. Make sure carbon monoxide alarms work on battery power or have battery backup.

If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds or you suspect poisoning, get everyone outside into fresh air immediately and call 911 from outside. Don’t stay inside to figure out what set it off.

Decide what would make you move

Pick a warm place you could reach before you need it: a friend’s home with power or a warming location confirmed open by local officials. Think through who can drive, how you would move anyone who needs help, and what to do with pets. Check road conditions and follow local instructions. If travel is unsafe, seek guidance or emergency assistance as appropriate instead of assuming you have to drive.

Write down what would end the wait. Maybe you can no longer keep someone warm with the supplies you have. Maybe the roads are still passable but are expected to get worse. For anyone who depends on powered medical equipment, plan with their care team and device supplier ahead of time. Find out which backup is compatible, how long it can run, and how much time you need to reach help. The FDA’s medical device guidance advises seeking emergency services immediately if you depend on a device to stay alive and it cannot be supported.

If everyone is safe for now, pick a time for the next check. Look at the room, the people in it, and any new information. If conditions change before then, act sooner. The point of a check-in is to make a decision with fresh information, not to give yourself another excuse to wait.

Run the drill while the lights still work

Take ten minutes this week. Leave the power and medical equipment on. Ask one person to find the lights and warm gear, another to look up the outage map, and everyone to name the warm place you’d go. If you live alone, walk through it yourself and tell someone you trust what your plan is. Write down the first thing that slowed you down. Fix that before you buy anything else.

Keeping your head under pressure starts with accepting what you can see. You don’t control when the power comes back. You do control whether your next move is based on the conditions in front of you.

Public safety guidance checked November 9, 2026. For a real outage, follow local emergency instructions and current conditions.