3 Major Safety Rules Every Resident Should Follow Around Power Lines
If you are like most residential dwellers, you spend your everyday life surrounded by power lines and don't really give it a lot of thought. However, the fact of the matter is, just over your head, surrounding your home, and hanging out where your children play are lines housing high-voltage electricity and this comes with some safety risks to be considered. To ensure that you or your children or never injured by electricity, there are some safety rules to keep in mind. Check out these basic rules every resident living around power lines should know.
Never climb trees or ladders around power lines.
You may allow your children to climb around in the trees or grab a ladder to clean out gutters without a second thought, but if this action involves getting close to power lines, it can be incredibly dangerous. Electricity is constantly traveling in search of a conductor to get back to the ground. If you are close enough to a power line, electricity can arc and use your body as the conductor it needs. This has happened unexpectedly on some occasions and the end result can be life threatening. Don't allow tree climbing if there are power lines nearby and steer clear of places with a ladder that would put you in close proximity as well.
Stay away from drooping power lines that are touching other items.
There is a massive wind storm and you wake the next morning to find a power line drooped low enough that it is touching the top of your vehicle. If this happens to you or if anything similar occurs, it is vital that you stay away from the line and anything it is touching. Go back inside your home and contact the power company to let them know about the damage.
Never throw anything at the pole mounted transformers on the poles.
Pole mounted transformers look a lot like small waste containers with a lid. They are grey and sizable enough to be easily visible from the ground. These transformers house crucial components that make delivery of power to homes in the area a possibility, so they are normally a container of electric current functions. These transformers have a locked lid and are made from solid steel materials with inner layers of non-conductive material or fluid. If this gets damaged, it can allow electrical power to arc out and cause a fire or injury.
