As we near the start of another school year, the Public Safety group has been busy preparing educational materials and in-person events for school kids in our Ohio service territory. One of those events is the Live Wire Electrical Safety School – a table-top display that shows a variety of electrical contact hazards in a residential area with both overhead and underground service.

“We recently held our first Live Wire Electrical Safety School demonstration in June, and it was a big hit with kids in the Sylvania City School District,” said Jamie McMullen, Public Safety Consultant, Safety Operations. “We’ve also held events in the Northwood and Ottawa Hills local school districts. The table-top demonstrator allows us to bring outdoor electrical safety into the classroom for preschoolers and school kids in grades K-6.”

The program starts with a video – hosted by FirstEnergy’s safety spokesperson Max Safety – that educates students about the potential dangers of electricity. The next part of the presentation involves FirstEnergy employees energizing and operating the table-top display, which highlights the various items (e.g., ladders, trees and vehicles) that can conduct electricity.

“Any employee can volunteer to operate the display and make the presentation to students – you don’t have to be a qualified electrical worker,” explained Jamie. “Employee volunteers receive training and must wear the required safety equipment – such as rubber and work gloves, flame-resistant clothing and eye protection – when doing the demonstration.”

Nate Weyandt (r.) uses the table-top display to demonstrate what happens when a ladder comes into contact with energized power lines.

Public Safety has received a lot of support from the Customer Accounts group to help launch the program. According to Brad Gillespie, manager, Customer Accounts (Ohio), the two groups have formed a strong partnership, and he is excited to be a part of the program.

“The Customer Accounts group already has relationships with many of the Ohio school districts because we are their liaison with the company – providing support with billing questions and any other issues they may have,” explained Brad. “It’s a natural fit for us to help set up these learning experiences when the school districts reach out to us for information about electrical safety.”

Brad emphasized that being a part of this program has been a very fulfilling experience, especially when you know that you are helping to keep kids safe. “These presentations are fun to do,” he added. “It’s great watching the expressions on the kids’ faces when they see the small arcs coming from the table-top display.”

The Live Wire Electrical Safety School will continue to be rolled out across school districts in our Ohio service territory in 2023. It will then be introduced in the other states we serve beginning next year.

“These initial demonstrations are a great opportunity for our volunteers to practice giving the safety school presentation so we can work out the bugs and prepare for the start of the school year in Ohio,” added Jamie. “We also look forward to receiving feedback from the teachers and students who have participated in the presentation so we can enhance the program and make it even better.”