Oil companies expect a weekend of heating emergencies as sub-zero temps may freeze water pipes

HOPKINTON, Mass. — Dave Buckley has been delivering home heating oil for about ten years. He anticipates an ‘interesting’ weekend ahead. With temperatures set to plunge Friday, Buckley expects some homeowners will get into trouble -- with frozen pipes.

Buckley remembers delivering to a customer during a previous cold snap who had ‘almost’ run out of oil. Actually, the customer completely ran out of oil. Buckley could see that when he walked into the basement.

“Water was just pouring down, ice was everywhere,” he remembered. “There was about a foot of water in the basement itself.”

Pipes freeze and burst when the cold is overwhelming -- and the water that normally travels through them stagnates. That can happen when thermostats are toggled on and off to higher and lower temperatures -- often in a bid to save money.

But in sub-zero weather that’s a penny-wise and pound-foolish proposition, suggested Keith Proia, general manager of Jamie Oil Companies in Ashland.

“If you have your thermostat set at 70 and you turn it down to 60 when you go to bed,” Proia explained, “In that 10-degree period, your heating system is not going to run, therefore the pipes with water in them will be stagnant. On outside walls, where the infiltration comes in, you have a good chance of freezing.”

This weekend, Jamie Oil is staffing up and expanding hours, in anticipation of home heating emergencies.

“The majority of the calls that we’re going to see in this snap are gonna be people that are unprepared,” Proia said. “And that would be people who order oil as they need it.”

That would be opposed to those who have heating oil automatically delivered.

“We’ll get some of these people calling us for last-minute deliveries,” Proia said. “If we can help them, we do. Sometimes we can’t.”

Proia said Jamie has been getting ready for this weekend’s arctic blast all week -- making sure its regular customers have their oil tanks topped.

He recommends that while the frigid air is here, homeowners set their thermostats high -- and keep them steady.

“I would recommend that people leave their thermostat at 70 degrees,” he said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2023 Cox Media Group