September 10, 2023

FirstEnergy continues to support the communities we serve by educating customers about electrical safety, giving them an opportunity to engage with our employees and see the equipment we use to keep power flowing safely and reliably to their homes. We recently supported two events in our Ohio Edison and Penelec service territories to help spread the word about electrical safety.

Columbiana County Fair

The annual Columbiana County Fair – held in Lisbon, Ohio – is a week-long event with food vendors, homemade crafts, animal exhibits and various other attractions. This year’s fair also featured a booth with electrical safety information provided by FirstEnergy.

“We work closely with the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency (CCEMA), especially during storm restoration events when having good communication between our two organizations is critical,” said Troy Rhoades, regional External Affairs consultant, Ohio Edison. “When they reached out to see if we could provide electrical safety information for this year’s fair, we were happy to assist.”

The booth was manned by employees and volunteers from the CCEMA, including Brian Rutledge, deputy director, CCEMA, who handed out electrical safety materials and played our spin-the-wheel game with fairgoers for a chance to win prizes. In addition, those who answered a series of questions correctly were entered into a drawing to receive an emergency preparedness kit provided by the CCEMA.

Touch a Truck Event

Every year, Philipsburg, Pa., hosts a Touch a Truck event which gives attendees a close-up look at the various vehicles that serve their community, including fire trucks, police vehicles, and of course, utility trucks.

At this year’s event, Penelec’s Trevor Straw, Line Construction & Maintenance, displayed one of the company’s bucket trucks so participants could sit in the cab, look inside the storage cabinets and learn about the equipment our employees use to safely repair and maintain electrical equipment.

According to Jamie McMullen, Public Safety consultant, educating our customers and other members of the public about the dangers of working or playing near energized electrical equipment is something FirstEnergy takes seriously. “Every interaction we have with a customer is an opportunity to tell them about electrical safety,” she said. “The information we share can help protect people from injury and even save their life.”