Electrical Contractor

Having worked many manual labor jobs, I’ve sat through many OSHA-style presentations. Many of them go over ridiculous, commonsense parameters such as how to properly stand on a ladder and wash a paintbrush. Despite the fact that much of the material in these presentations is superfluous, the electricity safety presentation is important.

Many of us remember lighting up a bulb with a battery and other similar experiments from elementary school. For most people, however, that is where their knowledge or electricity and safety precautions ends. Because a wrong move with electricity can be fatal, learning the proper safety precautions is essential.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have become accustomed to power outages. Although the old-growth trees and forests create clean air and beautiful landscapes, they are also a power line’s worst enemy. During a 1993 windstorm that took out whole sections of the energy grid, my family lost power for over a week.

After having to move into a hotel for multiple days, we learned our lesson and bought a residential backup generator. Now when we lose power—which usually happens at least once a year—we don’t have to worry about computer crashes and losing hundreds of dollars of food. Having the necessities is great, but I enjoy having TV and other electronics too.