Local shelters are opening, and fire officials are warning residents about heating dangers as an Extreme Cold Warning takes effect this weekend in Thomas County. Where to stay warm: Daytime warming options include the Thomas Co unty Public Library and local churches. Overnight shelter space is available at Fountain of Life, with New Covenant Church opening if needed. How to get there: Southwest Georgia Regional Transit operates in Thomas County, but rides to warming locations or shelters must be booked ahead of time by calling 1-833-799-7433. How to heat safely: Fire officials warn against using stoves or ovens for heat and say many winter house fires are caused by improper use of heating equipment. Extreme cold this weekend: where to warm up in Thomas County and how to stay safeBROADCAST SCRIPTAs freezing temperatures move into Thomas County this weekend, officials are warning this cold could be dangerous, especially overnight.Right now, I'm checking on where people can go to stay warm and what safety experts say you should not do when heating your home.With an Extreme Cold Warning and dangerous wind chills expected this weekend, both the city and county are urging neighbors to stay indoors and stay warm whenever possible.If you're looking for a place to warm up during the day, you can head to locations like the Thomas County Public Library, the Scott Senior Center, or local churches that are open.By nighttime, your first option is the Fountain of Life shelter, which opens at 6 p.m, and if that fills up, New Covenant Church will step in."We will be a secondary shelter providing overnight stay in the event that the Fountain of Life on Clay Street here in Thomasville, that shelter reaches max capacity. In the event, we will then open our doors, and we'll be able to serve our community in that manner, so both Saturday and Sunday," said Dave Allen, the pastor at New Covenant church.If you don't have a car, Southwest Georgia Regional Transit can help get you to a warming location or overnight shelter. But rides must be booked ahead of time.You can call 1-833-799-7433 to schedule a ride.And if you're trying to heat your home, Fire Chief Chris Jones tells me this is when people need to be especially careful as one-third of our house fires from December through January come from heating equipment."It's not necessarily the equipment, but it's just the means that people are using to power that, and that 99% of them are designed that they plug directly into a wall outlet. And what we find a lot of times when we respond to house fires and it's from a piece of heating equipment is they'll have multiple extension cords running from one outlet with this heating equipment there, and that's where the fire starts or where it came from," said Jones.Chief Jones tells me the absolute last thing they want to deal with this time of year is a loss of life, all because someone was trying to stay warm."We've already had one, maybe two calls this week where we were called to a residence where they were using their stove or their oven to try to heat the house. We do not recommend that. That's not a source for providing heat," said Jones.And there is some relief for residents this weekend. The City of Thomasville confirms there will be no utility cutoffs during the extreme cold.In Thomasville, Layan Abu Tarboush, ABC27.Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.Like us on FacebookFollow us on Instagram and X. ...read more read less