It’s Electrical Safety Week in the province and BC Hydro is reminding you to stay safe regarding downed or damaged power lines.
According to a recent survey, over three-quarters of parents with children 18 and younger aren’t aware they need to stay back 10 metres and call 9-1-1 if they encounter damaged electrical infrastructure.
Spokesperson, Dave Mosure explains why calling emergency crews to deal with the matter is the much safer choice instead of calling BC Hydro.
“A downed power wire is a safety concern and can be capable of severe injury or worse and emergency responders can arrive on scene a lot faster than BC Hydro and they can ensure public safety while waiting for our crews to arrive and make the scene itself safe.”
“It’s easy to become complacent about electricity and we only think about it when it is no longer available due to an outage. Our intent for Electrical Safety Week is to increase public safety and increase the knowledge if you have to ever be around a downed power wire.”
The crown corporation states downed overhead power lines can occur for many reasons, including damage from storms, ice, motor vehicle or heavy equipment accidents, or in rare cases, equipment failure.
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