On Monday, April 29th, for our weekly training, the department hosted PPL Electric's Live Line Electrical Safety Exhibit. The session was run by Doug Haupt and Steve Krause, both with PPL Electric Utilities. These trained PPL workers, wearing protective equipment, showed the sounds, sparks and impacts that occur when items such as gloves, ladders and shovels make contact with above-ground and underground power lines. The exhibit involved an interactive discussion and demonstrations of some of the hazards that First Responders encounter while operating at emergency scenes near electrical equipment. The exhibit is a scaled-down version of PP&L's 7200-volt electrical distribution system. The exhibit features live electrical wires, utility poles, and transformers. Personnel also got an opportunity to test the effectiveness of a commonly carried piece of equipment: the AC Hot Stick. FDLS personnel were joined by personnel from companies 30 (Penbrook), 46 (Hummelstown), and 47 (South Hanover).

This was just one of about 100 demonstrations that PPL performs annually. This was a great session that provided some very enlightening information. We would like to thank PPL for making this demonstration available and taking the time to share it with us.