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Power Line Safety

ACCIDENTALLY CONTACTING A POWER LINE CAN BE DANGEROUS, AND IN SOME CASES, EVEN DEADLY. WARREN COUNTY REMC WANTS TO HELP OUR MEMBERS STAY SAFE AROUND POWER LINES.

KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE

Whether you are playing outdoors with your children or working on landscaping projects, keep a safe distance from power lines and other equipment your co-op uses to get electricity to your home.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO…

  • Stay away from power lines, meters, transformers and electrical boxes.
  • Don’t climb trees near power lines.
  • Never fly kits, remote control airplanes or balloons near power lines.
  • If you get something stuck in a power line, call Warren County REMC to get it.
  • Keep a safe distance from overhead power lines when working with ladders or installing objects such as antennas.
  • Never touch or go near a downed power line.
  • Don’t touch anything that may be touching a downed wire, such as a car.
  • Keep children and pets away from power lines.

For safety reasons, please do not attach anything to power poles. Nails and staples can increase injury among utility workers, especially since line crews climb power poles. We all have seen or hung-up posters of missing pets, upcoming garage sales and other miscellaneous announcements on utility poles. While it may seem like a harmless act with no malice intended, these little pieces of paper can cause big harm to utility workers and are illegal. Utility workers are tasked with climbing those same utility poles to work. Foreign objects such as staples or nails embedded in the pole can lead to the utility worker snagging or getting a hole in their gloves. Those gloves are meant to insulate workers from high voltage and protect them from being electrocuted.

Hunting stands and basketball hoops are other items that have been found attached to utility poles. Warren County REMC will request that items be removed if they are attached to poles.

POWER LINE HAZARDS AND CARS

If a power line falls on a car, you should stay inside the vehicle. This is the safest place to stay. Warn people not to touch the car or the line. Call or ask someone to call the local cooperative and emergency services.

The only circumstance in which you should consider leaving a car that is in contact with a downed power line is if the vehicle catches on fire. Open the door. Do not step out of the car. You may receive a shock. Instead, jump free of the car so that your body clears the vehicle before touching the ground. Once you clear the car, shuffle at least 50 feet away, with both feet on the ground.

As in all power line-related emergencies, call for help immediately by dialing 911 and then call Warren County REMC.

Do not try to help someone else from the car while you are standing on the ground.