Electrical Safety Tips
Learn how to use electricity safely and wisely. It’s invisible, silent, and very powerful. Please take a minute to read and learn the following tips to help you stay safe around electricity.
General Safety
Tips for around your home or business
Child Safety
Tips to keep kids safe around electricity
Dig Safety
Electrical safety tips for digging
Heater Safety
Safety tips for using a space heater
Flood Safety
Electrical safety tips after flooding
General Safety Around your Home or Business
- Have a licensed electrician inspect your home to be sure that it is properly grounded. Large appliances should have their own circuit and be grounded with a three-prong plug.
- Keep appliances in good condition. Always unplug them by pulling the plug, not the cord, when not in use. Have worn or frayed cords replaced immediately and always have a qualified technician make repairs.
- Electricity and water don’t mix! Keep appliances away from sinks, bathtubs, pools and wet hands.
- If power shuts off in your home, check your service panel. If everything appears to be in order and you are still without power, call Norwood Light at 781-948-1100.
- When replacing a fuse be sure to use a new one of the same rating. Never substitute when replacing a fuse. Using a penny or aluminum foil could cause a fire. If breakers/fuses trip or blow out often, call an electrician.
Child Safety
- Children’s curiosity can lead to danger. Cover outlets with plastic safety plugs.
- Explain the dangers of electricity beginning at an early age.
- Teach children to recognize *Danger High Voltage Signs*.
- Have children fly kites in open areas away from overhead lines. Electricity can travel through the strings of kites and balloons that have come in contact with power lines.
- Teach children to call an adult if a toy gets tangled in power lines or a fenced-in substation. The adult will call Norwood Light for help. Never attempt to retrieve it yourself.
- Never allow children to climb a tree with power lines near or running through it.
Dig Safety
Call before you dig! Call DigSafe by dialing 811. It’s the law.
- Homeowners and even some contractors can make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked. But every digging job requires a call – even small projects like planting trees and shrubs.
- The depth of utility lines varies. And there may be multiple utility lines in a common area. Call 72 hours in advance of digging and a DigSafe representative will send out someone to mark underground facilities.
Space Heater Safety
- Keep drapes, newspapers, clothing and other combustible objects a safe distance away.
- Plug portable space heaters directly into the outlet. Avoid using extension cords.
- Always put heaters in a place where they can’t be tipped over easily. It’s best to keep them on the floor where they have less of a chance of falling and becoming a potential fire or shock hazard.
- Do not use heaters in wet or moist areas, such as bathrooms, unless they are specifically built for that purpose. Doing so can not only corrode the heater, but can be a dangerous shock hazard.
- Make sure that the plug of the heater fits snugly in the outlet. A worn-out outlet can overheat, burning up both the outlet and plug. If left unnoticed, this can start a fire throughout the house.
- Do not run cords under rugs or carpets. Doing so can cause the cord to overheat and start a fire.
- Broken heaters should be checked and repaired only by a qualified appliance service center. Do not attempt to make any repairs to the heater yourself.
- Don’t use space heaters in rooms where children are unsupervised. Children may stick their fingers or other objects through the protective guards, causing burns or shock.
- Turn off the space heater and unplug it when not in use.
Flooding Safety
- Electricity and Water DON’T Mix!
- Do not use electrical appliances that have been wet. Water can damage motors in furnaces, freezers, washing machines, dryers and other appliances.
- If an electric appliance has been under water have it dried out and evaluated and/or reconditioned by a qualified service technician.
- Have a licensed electrician check the wiring in your home to be sure the outlets are safe to use.
- When using a wet vacuum cleaner, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to avoid electric shock.
- Do not allow power cord connections to become wet.
- Do not remove or bypass the group pin on a three-prong plug.
- Use Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) to prevent electrocution.
- Submerged circuit breakers and fuses pose a fire hazard. Replace all circuit breakers and fuses that have been under water and discard all circuit breakers and fuses that have been submerged.