Electricity...the Invisible Killer

We had a pretty intense but facinating lesson in safety around electricity and downed power lines. In the video at http://www.electricity.ca/theinvisiblekiller/ you will see where a police officer touches a car in the effort to help and he himself gets killed. This blog is more serious and perhaps not as funny to read as my others but I'm hoping if I can save at least one life, let it be yours or your kids'.

If you are working around
powerlines, trimming trees or painting the side of your house, please contact your local power company for advice on the best and safest practices. If you are working around lines, trimming trees or painting the side of your house, please contact your local power company for advice on the best and safest practices. 

Ideally you want to be a minimum 1 power pole distance away from the downed line. the ground is charged by the current and can kill you at any zone. The video link above demonstrates this.

If you see a car accident on the road, don't get out of your vehicle to go help. You could be come a casualty yourself. If there is no emergency vehicle in sight, call 911 and report it. Stay in your vehicle until you are given instructions from the emergency team at the scene. You'd be surprised at how many people try to be a good samaritan and end up getting seriously hurt or dead themselves.

As my instructor for the electrical safety program says "When in doubt, Don't." 

Take care of yourselves and I'll see you on the next blog date.