Mississippi Power educates first responders in state on electrical hazards
Mississippi Power is working with first responders in the state to help them avoid electrical hazards.
This month, Mississippi Power has been conducting workshops for first responders, including the Biloxi Fire Department, on how to recognize and avoid electrical dangers from down wires, generators, meters, and other risks.
“Our goal is to keep everyone safe,” Mississippi Power’s Risk Management and Claims Specialist Archie Reeves said. “We work to keep emergency responders informed so they can better protect the public and themselves.”
Reeves, who is teaching the course, said the safety course is done as a service to the community and is open to any municipalities or organizations that request it.
“When a municipality requests the course, we’re ready. We’ve also taught the course to volunteer fire departments, police departments, and sheriff’s departments. It’s a great way to share best practices,” Reeves said. “When you consider the possibility of how those lessons could get paid forward, it’s a given we’ll do our part to help first responders stay safe.”
The workshop also educates emergency response workers on the fundamentals of electricity, electric utility systems, and best practices to follow when responding to fires involving electric lines and equipment. It should be assumed that every down wire is live, Reeves stated.
“Following our discussion on meters and breakers, there was a question about how to tell if a digital meter is live,” Reeves said. “That was a really good question and it came from an experienced firefighter.”
Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Company, serves 187,000 customers in 23 counties in southern Mississippi.
