JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the major concerns with a hurricane hitting Florida is the loss of power that comes with falling trees and downed power lines and as Tropical Storm Erika continues to build and head toward the coast, more and more people are preparing to deal with the loss of power that can sometimes take weeks to restore.
Major municipal services, like hospitals, have backup generators to keep their lifesaving functions running smoothly. Even Channel 4 has a generator to keep broadcasting no matter how bad the storms may get.
To combat that loss of power and keep the lights on at home some people are also turning to gas-powered generators when the lights go down in the city.
Experts say it's not a bad idea for residents to get one for their own home, just be careful, and as Erika grows closer, Home Depots in Northeast Florida are selling out of those generators.
"They are our highest item in demand when it comes to a storm. So as far as all the stores are concerned those are the things that are flying off the shelf the soonest," Home Depot employee Sam Tully said.
Generators come in all sizes and range from a couple hundred bucks to thousands of dollars based upon what people need to run off of them.
"It is going to be very important for what all you are going to be needing to run off of it. You don't necessarily need to be running a washer and dryer off of it because of the fact that you are going to tame down what you are going to be using electrically through the storm. You're only going to be using it for the necessities," Tully said.
But experts like John Long, with the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters, said that people need to be careful when using generators because the fumes they emit, like carbon monoxide, can be deadly if people are not careful.
Long recommends putting a carbon monoxide alarm near the generator to catch any dangerous buildup of carbon monoxide that could be fatal.
"Even if you put (the generator) outside of your house and run a cord into your house, a carbon monoxide detector is going to be able to tell you if you are getting those fumes in the house. Because you're not going to be able to smell it and you can't see it," Long said. "Never, ever run the generator in the house and don't leave it in your garage. That is where a lot of the AC units are and you can suck it right into the house and you will have big problems. Whether or not you have power."
This close to a major storm most hardware stores across Jacksonville are already sold out of generators, but it is possible to rent them.
The last thing to remember when using a generator is having enough extension cords and enough gasoline to last for several days.