May 16, 2024

FirstEnergy employees have been participating in community events across our service territory to help spread information about how to stay safe around electricity. Several Pennsylvania Operations line workers recently attended a Touch-A-Truck event at the H. Austin Snyder Elementary School in Sayre, Pa., to talk to students about electrical safety and to show them the tools of the trade, including a bucket truck and a digger derrick.

“It’s so cool to see the looks on kids’ faces when they get up close to these massive vehicles that they usually can only view from a distance,” said Jason Krise, Regional External Affairs Consultant. “The students asked some great questions, and our line workers did an outstanding job interacting with the kids and sharing their knowledge about electricity.”

One of the elementary school’s teachers asked Penelec to participate in the event to help students learn about what line workers do, the tools they use and some general tips about how to stay safe around electrical equipment. The kids were able to look inside the truck’s storage cabinets, watch how line workers set utility poles and see the aerial bucket in action.

The line workers took time to interact with the students and answer all their questions.

The line workers who conducted the presentation were Line Construction & Maintenance employees Nick Dunn (Lead), Alex Murrelle and Chris O’Conner. All three are based at Penelec’s Towanda Service Center.

“Touch-A-Truck events are a great way to share electrical safety information with kids, who are a big focus of our public safety efforts,” said Jamie McMullen, Public Safety Consultant. “We also use our fleet of Live Wire Electrical Safety Trailers and a variety of other initiatives to connect with students and other members of the community, such as first responders and at-risk workers. It’s important that our customers understand the dangers of working or playing near energized electrical equipment.”

(L. to r.) Penelec line workers Alex Murrelle, Nick Dunn and Chris O’Conner from Towanda Service Center.