Outdoor Safety

YEC Crew member inspection substation structure.

Stay out of substations

If a ball or toy gets in a sub­sta­tion, chil­dren should tell an adult to call the pow­er com­pa­ny. Nev­er try to retrieve toys your­self.

View of power lines from the ground

Stay clear of high-voltage towers

Nev­er touch or climb on these tow­ers. Over­head wires and oth­er tow­er equip­ment car­ry very high-volt­age elec­tric­i­ty that is dan­ger­ous to con­tact.

Green transformer box is pictured

Don’t dig near or pry them open

Trans­form­ers are locked inside stur­dy met­al cab­i­nets for safe­ty. If you find one unlocked, keep away and call the local elec­tric util­i­ty imme­di­ate­ly.

A model truck and utility vehicle with "YEC" signage in a diorama setting featuring a painted scenic backdrop with trees and a winding road.

Wait in the vehicle for rescuers

If you must leave due to haz­ards, jump clear of fall­en lines. Don’t touch vehi­cle and ground at the same time. Land with feet togeth­er and shuf­fle away.

Overgrown trees are shown

Work and play safely around trees

Con­tact York Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive before trim­ming trees near over­head pow­er lines. Nev­er let chil­dren climb trees near pow­er lines.

A person cleans a swimming pool with a long pole. There are chairs and umbrellas beside the pool, and green trees in the background.

Keep your distance!

When car­ry­ing and using lad­ders and oth­er long tools such as pool clean­ing tools, keep them at least ten feet away from all over­head lines.

Power line on ground

Keep away!

If you see a fall­en line, stay far away. The line can be dan­ger­ous, even if it’s not spark­ing. Noti­fy the local elec­tric util­i­ty and 911 imme­di­ate­ly.

A wall outlet with GFCI has two black plugs inserted. The outlet includes test and reset buttons on a light switch plate.

Always use them when outdoors

GFCIs shut off pow­er to pre­vent seri­ous shock. GFCI pro­tec­tion is required for out­door areas, crawl spaces and garages. Portable GFCIs are avail­able.

thunderstorm at night

Caught in a lightning storm?

Avoid trees and bod­ies of water. Get into an enclosed vehi­cle or house. Caught in the open? Squat with feet togeth­er, tuck head and cov­er ears.

Underground Electric Safety Demo

Call before you dig

If you hit an under­ground pow­er line you could be fatal­ly injured. Before dig­ging or mov­ing earth in any way, call your one-call util­i­ty loca­tor ser­vice.

A person holding golden "21" balloons stands against a clear blue sky, with leaves visible in the top corner. No landmarks are present.

Fly them away from power lines

Kites or bal­loons that con­tact pow­er lines can cause shock or fire, so keep them away from over­head lines. Keep con­duc­tive met­al bal­loons indoors.

A person wearing sunglasses and a hard hat sharpens a chainsaw chain using a file. They are focused on their task.

Select tools meant for outdoor use

They should be dou­ble insu­lat­ed or have three-way ground­ed plugs. Keep pow­er saw, drill, and trim­mer cords where they can’t be cut.

Power Line Safety at Home

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[PDF] Safe at Home Brochure

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