With snow, as with many things, knowledge is power

As snow started falling yesterday, city officials offered tips for winter safety. Here's what you need to know.

* The city Streets Department applied a brine solution to streets last night and has been salting and plowing to keep roads clear.

* There will be 350 beds available across the city at emergency shelters. For more details, call Project H.O.M.E. at 215-232-1984.

* If snow piles up, the city requires that you shovel a 36-inch-wide path in front of your house.

* Any general questions about the weather or city services? Call the non-emergency 3-1-1 line.

* Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers reported that medic units were experiencing higher than normal delays in getting patients to hospitals due to slick road conditions mainly between 5 and 6:30 last night. Ayers ordered several medic units to work overtime and almost immediately he said that operations returned to normal.

* No fatalities from car accidents had been reported in the city as of about 9 p.m., Ayers said.

* In New Jersey, police reported hundreds of accidents, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities. The New Jersey Turnpike reduced its speed limit to 45 mph from the Trenton area south as crews spread brine solution.

- Catherine Lucey and Christine Olley