Practice
holiday electrical safety this season
With Thanksgiving behind
us it is the official start of the Christmas decorating season. Sequachee Valley
Electric Cooperative and The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI)
would like to remind those at home and in the workplace to keep electrical
safety in mind when decorating for the holiday season:
·
Before decorating, read and follow the
manufacturers’ instructions concerning installation and maintenance of all
decorative electrical products.
·
Use lights and other electrical
decorations certified by a recognized independent testing laboratory such as
CSA, UL, or ETL.
·
Outdoors, use lights and other
electrical decorations certified for outdoor use.
·
Carefully inspect each decoration before
plugging into an outlet. Cracked, frayed, loose or bare wires, as well as loose
connections may cause electrical shock or start a fire. Replace damaged items.
·
Always unplug electrical decorations
before replacing light bulbs or fuses.
·
Do not mount or support light strings
that might damage the cord's insulation.
·
Never nail or staple light strings or
extension cords.
·
Do not connect more than three light
string sets together.
·
Light strings with screw-in bulbs should
have no more than 50 bulbs connected together.
·
Do not overload extension cords – they
can overheat and start a fire. Keep all outdoor extension cords and light
strings clear of snow and standing water.
·
Never use electric lights on a metallic
tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights.
·
Do not allow children or pets to play
with electrical decorations. Even small light decorations can produce a fatal
shock if they are misused.
·
Turn off all electrical decorations
before leaving home or going to bed.
·
Plug outdoor electric lights and
decorations into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs).
Portable GFCIs can be purchased wherever electrical supplies are sold.