Lifetime of Safety - Febuary 2008

Lifetime of Safety

Additional Lifetime of Safety Resources

During February, love is always in the air. Show your loved ones that you really care by looking out for their safety. Protect them from dangerous electrical situations that could potentially harm them or worse by following Oncor's Lifetime of Safety tips for February.

To protect your children:

  • Protect little fingers from electrical shock by covering electric outlets with outlet caps. Plain ones work best because they don't attract as much attention from your children.
  • Plain is also best with night lights. A novelty night light may tempt your children into playing with it or the outlet it's plugged into.
  • Teach children not to grab plug-in toys and appliances by the cord. Tugging on a cord can damage it, turning it into an electrical or fire hazard.

To protect your elderly relatives:

  • Outlets on the ground may be hard to reach for seniors who can't get up and down easily. Carefully check their electrical outlets for heat, sparks and noises. If the outlet is hot to the touch, has sparks coming out of it or makes popping noises, call a certified electrician immediately.
  • Remind your elderly loved ones not to fall asleep with a heating pad or space heater on as this could cause the heaters to overheat and possibly cause a fire.
  • Move extension cords out of walkways to avoid stumbling or falls. Remember, don’t hide cords under rugs or they may overheat and cause a fire.

To protect the whole family:

  • Stay away from downed power lines! If you see a downed power line, leave the area and immediately call 9-1-1. Keep your pets and children away, too. Remember — do not touch a downed power line or any object that is in contact with the power line.
  • All appliances and lights should be certified by an independent testing lab such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), CSA International or ITS.
  • If the lawn is wet, wait until it's dry to mow the grass with your electric lawn mower. Water and electrical equipment don't mix.
  • When making the bed, be sure to leave the electric blanket un-tucked and on top of the bed, not under all of the covers. Tucking in an electric blanket or weighing it down with other heavy blankets could cause it to overheat and result in an electrical hazard.

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