May is National Electrical Safety Month, and we are joining with the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) to raise awareness about potential home electrical hazards and the importance of electrical safety. This year’s campaign features the launch of Electrical Safety Illustrated magazine, which discusses timely electrical safety issues and equips consumers with the knowledge to protect their homes, families, and communities from electrical hazards.
Melted splice due to space heater in Amston, CT home
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates 47,700 home structure fires reported to U.S. fire departments each year involve some type of electrical failure or malfunction as a factor contributing to ignition. These fires result in 418 civilian deaths, 1,570 civilian injuries, and $1.4 billion in direct property damage. Awareness and education are critical to reduce the incidence of electrical fires, and ESFI sponsors National Electrical Safety Month each May to educate the public in order to reduce the number of electrically related fires, fatalities, injuries and property loss.
“Many electrocutions and home fires can be prevented by understanding basic electrical safety principles and by taking simple precautions,” said Andy Hul. “This year’s campaign features a collection of easily sharable safety resources that provide a fundamental understanding of electrical safety."
Featured content in Electrical Safety Illustrated includes resources that provide an overview of the National Electrical Code ® (NEC) process and address the importance of timely adoption, an illustrated guide that break downs the importance of arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) and ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) while highlighting their differences, a graphic that explains tamper resistant receptacle (TRR) technology, a National Electrical Safety Month quiz, tips for avoiding counterfeit electrical products, and important information on home surge protection.
ESFI encourages the sharing of its campaign resources, and developed The National Electrical Safety Month 2014 Electrical Safety Advocate Guide to provide the resources necessary to raise awareness of electrically safe practices. Whether you want to educate a loved one or raise awareness in your community, school, or workplace, this guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to be an Electrical Safety Advocate and help champion ESFI’s cause of minimizing electrically-related deaths and injuries.
Electrical safety awareness and education among consumers, families, employees, and communities will prevent electrical fires, injuries, and fatalities.
About ESFI:
The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) sponsors National Electrical Safety Month each May to increase public awareness of the electrical hazards around us at home, work, school, and play. ESFI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to promoting electrical safety. For more information about ESFI and electrical safety, visit www.esfi.org.
