National Burn Awareness Week – Extension Cord Safety

🔥It’s Burn Awareness Week. #NBAW 🔥

🔌Let’s talk extension cord safety!🔌

Extension cords, they’re everywhere. Inside, outside, residential, construction… We love our extension cords. But using extension cords can be risky business if not done safely.

Here are some tips to stay safe when using extension cords to prevent electrical shocks and electrical fires:

-Make sure the extension cords are rated for the area they are used in – there are both indoor and outdoor cords. ⚠️ pro-tip – just because it’s construction yellow doesn’t mean that it’s an outdoor rated cord.

-Do not string extension cords through water

-Do not remove the ground prong from an extension cord

-Do not overload extension cords – different cords have different duty ratings, overloading can cause melting, leading to an electrical fire

-Do not use an extension cord as a rope – who would do this? I say this, because I have seen it done before, more than once. 🤦‍♀️

-Just because you have electrical tape, doesn’t mean that it’s a “fix all” for electrical cables – in most cases electrical tape is for repair of the external sheathing only. Should the extension cords internal wires be damaged, electrical tape isn’t fixing anything, it’s just hiding a fire hazard.

-Inspect extension cords regularly. This is probably one of the number one things that I remove from site during my walkarounds.

-Protect extension cords on site from mechanical impact (being run over) by using cable covers.

🚫Remember, when in doubt, tag it out. If you’re not sure if an extension cord is safe to use, tag it out of service and have it inspected by a qualified person.🚫