Seattle City Light offers safety tips for your fall projects. With a new season comes a new kind of housework. It’s time to clean the gutters and get your roof repaired before the rain and snow come. When the work gets higher from the ground, the closer you get to power lines. Seattle City Light offers these reminders so you can stay safe when you start those projects.
When working outdoors around your house, remember to keep tall ladders, roofing materials and pruning equipment clear of overhead power lines to avoid a hazardous situation. Make sure to look up to check for wires.
Take special caution when using an aluminum ladder around your home. Aluminum is a good conductor of electricity. If you touch a power line with an aluminum ladder, you could be seriously injured or killed. The same goes for antennas, metal gutters and other long metal objects. Make sure that they don’t touch a power line.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires anyone working or lifting within 10 feet of overhead power lines or poles to contact their utility first. If you’re planning on doing work close to a power line, call City Light at 684-3000.
Think twice about how close you are to power lines as you start your home projects this fall and if you have questions, call first.