Storm Damage - Electrical Safety Tips
Tom O'Dwyer
The recent severe storm was responsible downed trees, downed electric wires and prolonged power outages throughout the local area. Downed overhead electric wires can lead to fatal injuries and are a huge safety risk. Understanding these risks and your responsibility as a homeowner can go a long way in keeping you safe and getting your home back to normal.
Cars Attempting to Drive Through Downed Live Electrical Wires, Very Unsafe!
The following article was put together by ConEd and offers some great information in regard to safety tips and the responsibilities of the utility vs. the homeowner.
http://www.coned.com/sm/stormrecover.asp
These responsibilities are fairly consistent regardless of your local utility. If you're reading this from Long Island please substitute PSEG for ConEd, PSEG is currently the Long Island Electrical Utility.
Downed Electric Wires
Emergency Contact Numbers and Safety Information for PSEG can be found at the following location:
https://www.pseg.com/home/education_safety/safety/power_lines.jsp?stop_mobi=yes
To summarize:
- Always assume a wire is live
- Never touch a downed electrical wire
- Never attempt to work on a downed wire, always call a professional
- Never drive over downed wires
- If a wire falls on your car DO NOT get out of your car, wait for assistance
Remember, safety first!
Please let me know if you have any questions, thanks!
Thomas O'Dwyer, PE
tom@homeportinspections.com