This week, we continue Prepare-in-a-Year with the second half of our home utility safety series. Keep reading to learn about what to do around downed power lines, even if a line has fallen on top of your car — and you can take a pop quiz challenge to test your knowledge about natural gas and electricity safety.
It’s always a live wire
If you come across a downed power line, call Puget Sound Energy at 1-888-225-5773. While you wait for emergency services to arrive, remember this:
• If a person or pet comes in contact with a power line, stay clear and call 911 immediately. Do not touch the victim or the wire.
• Never touch a downed cable or anything near it, even if you think it just looks like a TV cable or telephone wire, even if you believe it’s insulated, even if it isn’t snapping and sparking.
• Do not drive over downed power lines. But what if the power lines fall on your vehicle? We have a video that will help you survive that scary situation.
Quiz yourself on natural gas & electricity safety
How many of these questions can you answer correctly? (The answers are listed just below the last question.)
1. What number do you call for a free utility locate before beginning any work that involves digging?
2. Which of the following signs may indicate a natural gas leak?
a. Rotten egg or sulfur odor
b. Bubbles appearing in outdoor puddles
c. Hissing sound
d. All of the above
3. What should you do if you suspect or detect a natural gas leak?
a. Leave the area on foot immediately
b. Attempt to find the location of the leak
c. Call the natural gas utility or 911 from a safe distance
d. Avoid creating any sparks, such as turning on or off switches
4. How far should you, a ladder, or other tools stay clear of overhead power lines?
a. 2-foot radius
b. 5 feet
c. 10 or more feet
5. What should you do if you are in a car or vehicle and come in contact with a downed power line or other electrical equipment?
a. Stay in the car and call for help
b. Leave the car, close the door and run
6. What should you do if you come across a downed power line?
a. Nothing
b. Don’t touch it
c. Stay away
d. Call 911
Answers: 1) 811; 2) d; 3) a, c, d; 4) c, 5) a, 6) b, c, d
Get the app
The myPSE smartphone app (www.pse.com/app) makes reporting and getting outage information easy. It will give you an outage map for your service address and the whole island, and a projected restoration time. You can also use it to report a new outage.
Generator safety
When the storm rages, and the lights go out, a home generator can provide power, light, and warmth. At the same time, if not properly operated, generators can damage your home or even poison you and your loved ones. Here are some basic safety measures to help you use your home generator safely. We’ve broken the advice into three hazard categories.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide doesn’t smell, and it has no color. You won’t know it’s there, but it could kill your family and your pets.
• Do not use a generator indoors or in any enclosed space, even if it has some ventilation. Don’t operate a generator in your home, garage, or crawl space.
• Even if you put the generator outside, don’t operate it near open doors and windows that will let carbon monoxide into your home.
• Place battery-powered carbon monoxide alarms around your house, to alert you if carbon monoxide builds up.
Electrocution or electric shock
• Don’t hook a generator directly into your home electrical system. That could send power into the neighborhood power lines and could electrocute a utility worker making repairs.
• You can have a qualified electrician hook up your generator using a transfer switch that automatically isolates your home from neighborhood electrical equipment.
• If you don’t have a transfer switch, connect appliances directly to the generator using heavy-duty extension cords.
Fire
• Flammable liquids, including fuel for generators, should be stored in properly labeled, non-glass safety containers outside living areas.
• Do not store fuel near a fuel-burning appliance such as a gas stove.
• If the fuel is spilled or the container is not sealed properly, invisible vapors from the fuel can travel along the ground and be ignited by the appliance’s pilot light or by arcs from electric switches.
• Turn the generator off and let it cool down before refueling. Gasoline or other flammable liquids spilled on hot engine parts could ignite.
Here are two sources for more information about safely operating a home generator:
FEMA publishes a fact sheet you can read at tinyurl.com/FEMAgenerators.
The American Red Cross provides generator safety info you can read at tinyurl.com/ARCgenerators.
