January 26, 2021

FirstEnergy spent the better part of 2020 building the foundation of its Public Safety Outreach program, designed to help protect first responders, high-risk contractors, school students and other members of the community who may come near our electrical lines and equipment. Now that we are ringing in a new year, our Public Safety team is ready to hit the ground running with additional outreach efforts.

Live Wire Electrical Safety Trailers

A key component of our outreach effort includes a new fleet of Live Wire Electrical Safety trailers that will be available to each of our 10 operating companies. Nearly all the trailers have had utility company logos and the Stop. Look. Live. graphic applied. The next step will include FirstEnergy Utilities (FEU) employees installing the equipment that will be used to conduct the safety demonstrations.

“The trailers will be fitted with power lines, transformers and other electric conductors as well as metal items, such as ladders and car doors,” said Candy Webb, consultant, Public Safety. “This work is being completed by FEU employees since they are the experts at safely installing electrical equipment.”

Measuring approximately 24 feet long, the safety trailers are designed to help firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel identify electrical hazards they may encounter in the field, specifically in situations where a vehicle accident or severe weather cause a power line to fall or damage other energized equipment.

Bill inserts sent to our 6 million electric customers are part of a multi-faceted ​​advertising campaign.

​Teaching Kids to Stop. Look. Live.

During the pandemic, FirstEnergy is continuing to send electrical safety information to educational institutions located within our service area. Whether they are providing in-person or virtual instruction, teachers appreciate the materials we’ve supplied and have responded with many notes of thanks.​

“When we launched the Public Safety Outreach Initiative in 2020, one of our priorities was to give teachers the tools they needed to educate kids about how to stay safe around electricity,” explained Candy. “We’re excited to share our newly branded educational materials – showcasing the Stop. Look. Live. graphic – to the nearly 1.5 million school kids in grades K-6 in our service territory.”

Other tools that teachers will have at their disposal in 2021 are a newly designed activity book and a video featuring Max Safety, the fictional spokesperson for the Public Safety Outreach program. Max is being introduced throughout our six-state service area to alert school students to the potential dangers of electricity.

Upcoming Public Safety Efforts

During the first quarter of 2021, the Public Safety team plans to launch a new software platform that will serve as one standardized location to track and trend all outreach activities, including communications for first responders, third-party contractors, government public affairs organizations and school districts.

In addition, employees should be on the lookout for elements of a multi-faceted advertising campaign that will feature the Stop. Look. Live. logo. A bill insert already has been distributed to our 6 million electric customers, and we plan to add a safety message to the outside of the bill envelope, as well. The campaign also will include billboards, digital ads, social media posts and a redesigned safety section of our corporate website.

“Safety is a core value at FirstEnergy, and the main focus of our Public Safety Outreach initiative is to help protect any member of the public who may come near our electrical lines and equipment,” said Shelley Baber, manager, Public Safety. “Although COVID-19 has altered the timeline of our outreach efforts, we continue to make progress toward our goals.”