May is National Electric Safety Month

May 16, 2021

While FirstEnergy focuses on safety year-round, May is National Electrical Safety Month – a good time to raise awareness and help everyone avoid potential hazards around electricity.

You’re never too old or too young to learn about electrical safety. There are always ways to secure your home from indoor and outdoor electrical hazards to ensure it is safe, secure and efficient.

Stop.Look. Live.

Each year, people are injured or killed by accidental contact with electrical equipment – contact that can be avoided if we all stop to think about our safety. If you are unsure whether an activity poses a safety risk, you should:

STOP. Stop doing what you’re doing.
LOOK. Look around for potential utility hazards and ways you might come into contact with utility infrastructure, and find a way to avoid the hazard.
LIVE. Your safety is in your hands.

For more information on FirstEnergy’s commitment to safety, visit www.firstenergycorp.co​m/publicsafety.

Information also is available on the ESFI website at https://www.esfi.org/*.

*By clicking the link in this article, you are entering a website maintained by an outside party, which is entirely responsible for the site’s content.

FirstEnergy encourages you to take the following precautions:

Indoors:

  • Inspect your system – Have a licensed electrician check your home’s electrical system to ensure that it’s running properly and meets current electrical codes. Flickering lights, sparks, non-functioning outlets and tripping circuits may indicate a problem.
  • Check cords – Replace or​ throw away electrical items that have frayed or cracked electric cords.
  • Keep electrical items away from water – Install ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) on outlets near water sources and never use electrical appliances or tools close to water or with wet hands.
  • Plug-in one high-wattage appliance at a time – Plug only one high-wattage appliance – such as a coffee maker, toaster, iron, space heater, etc. into an outlet at a time to avoid overloading it.
  • Only put electrical plugs into outlets – Teach children to never stick fingers or objects into electrical outlets or appliances with openings such as toasters. Cover or cap outlets that are not in use to protect children. ​
  • Before wiring, turn it off – Turn off the power at the breaker before working on electrical devices or wiring.

​Outdoors:

  • Stay away from power lines – Keep yourself and anything you are touching more than 10 feet away from neighborhood power lines and at least 100 feet from larger high-voltage lines. This includes ladders, tools to trim trees, kites, metallic balloons and flying toys.
  • Report fallen power lines – Stay away from a power line that has fallen and anything it may be touching. Call 911 immediately to report it.
  • Call 811 before digging – Call ahead before doing any digging to have underground utilities marked. It’s free and it’s required by law.
  • Check before using tools outdoors – Are the electrical appliances and tools marked for outdoor use? Make sure they are and avoid using them close to water or in the rain.View more outdoor safety tips, including guidelines for operating power tools and maintaining outdoor lighting. ​