Fire Thought For The Day 005

Power Lines



Power lines are very dangerous to especially firefighters. The structure lads are more in the know about this topic than wildland people. We need to make ourselves more aware of the perils.
- Water and power lines do not mix. Never attempt to spray water from a hose anywhere near power lines.
- Never touch a wire that is down.
- Always consider a down line to be charged even if there are no sparks.
- Do not touch power lines with objects such as a stick either.
- Do not touch anything including a person that is in contact with a power line.
- Keep other people away, and always inform your supervisor and others of the situation immediately.
- Downed phone lines sometimes look the same as power lines. Trust no line. Do not take any chance. Don’t guess that it is a phone line. Let the power experts deal with it.
- Don’t go near a vehicle with power lines on it. Keep the folks inside calm and tell them to stay put. If car is on fire and they need to get out now, tell them to jump clear away from the line, then bunny hop away. Keep others away and let the experts deal with it.
- Do not drive over downed power lines.
- Do not attempt to try and cut or remove a tree laying on a power line. Let the power folks do it. Keep people away.
- Do not park under power lines on a fire. Do not refuel anything under power lines.
- Electric charges can follow smoke to the ground from power lines.
- The best bet is stay away. Have the Power Company unhook the power and be sure it is unhooked.
- Take the time to do things safely and right.

Until next, above all else Stay Safe! Tex