Despite sub-zero temperatures that have settled on the area the past few days, households in the Bradford community have for the most part avoided the frozen pipe syndrome, as far as city officials know.

At the City of Bradford Fire Department, Capt. J.D. Tehle, said the department has received no calls for help regarding frozen water pipes during this weekend’s arctic temperatures that dropped as low as minus 6 or less in some areas.

“We haven’t had a one … we’ve been lucky this round,” Tehle said of the lack of calls for help in the community.

Tehle said the fire department has received calls for frozen pipes during past cold spells, but believes residents are possibly taking proactive measures to ensure it doesn’t happen during this winter storm.

In addition to leaving faucets open to drip water, Tehle said residents should leave heat on in rooms and shouldn’t use propane torches, torpedo heaters or heat guns to thaw pipes.

“If you’re not looking, you can set the insulation on fire, and it can smoulder for a while,” he remarked. “The next thing you know, you’ve got a fire.”

As for dripping water, Tehle said cold water trickling can stop pipes from freezing, but cold water blended with warm will certainly help.

He offered other advice in preventing pipes from freezing.

“In different areas (of the house) prone to freezing, such as cabinets under the sink, keep the doors open and allow the heat to get in there,” he advised. “If you do have to thaw something out use a hair dryer, but that would be the only thing I would use.”

Tehle said he recalls a house in the community that caught on fire when the occupants used a propane torch to thaw the pipes.

Tehle said instead of taking a risk such as this because the pipes are difficult to thaw, one should call a plumber.

“They have ways to thaw it out without causing any problems,” he said of plumbers.

At the Bradford City Water Authority, director Steve Disney said his department has received calls for frozen water meters during the cold snap.

“I think we went on four calls (Monday) just for frozen meters,” Disney said, noting there is a fee associated with the replacement of a meter.

Disney said the best thing to do to prevent a meter from freezing is make sure it isn’t open to the weather.

“If it’s in a crawl space, make sure there are no drafts,” he advised. “And make sure there is no open air or wind that can get at it.”

He said if a meter breaks it can stop the flow of water to the house, or result in water leaking from the meter.