May is National Electrical Safety Month

May is National Electrical Safety Month and a good time review electrical safety practices. Increasing electrical safety awareness, following electrical safety guidelines, and using tools and technology designed to address electrical hazards are all components of a safety program.

ESFI has issued electrical safety tips to help avoid tragic and costly injuries:

• Use appliances and equipment according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Replace damaged electrical equipment or have it repaired at an authorized repair center.
• Make sure power strips, cords and surge suppressors are designed to handle the loads for their intended use. Avoid overloading circuits by plugging too many items into the same outlet.
• Use ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection when working where water is near electricity to protect against electric shock.
• Make certain that all products and equipment are approved by an independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), or ETL-SEMKO (ETL).
• Add protection by installing a new electrical safety device—an arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI)—to detect and stop electrical arcs that can cause fires. Arcs are not detected by most breakers and fuses.
• Avoid contact with power lines by being aware of the location of power lines and keeping a distance of at least 10 feet between you and power lines to avoid arcs.