FirstEnergy Launches Public Safety Campaign Focused on Protecting the Public from Electrical Safety Hazards

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Sep 21, 2020, 10:22 ET

AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has launched its new "Stop. Look. Live." safety campaign to educate the public about staying safe around electricity and near FirstEnergy's power lines and equipment.

The campaign encourages everyone to follow three simple steps to avoid dangerous accidental contact with electrical equipment:

STOP what you're doing to consider your personal safety before working or playing around power lines or electrical equipment.
LOOK around for potential hazards and ways you might come into contact with electrical equipment and identify a way to avoid the hazard.
LIVE and prevent serious injury or death by taking precautions to avoid accidental contact with electrical equipment. There is nothing more important than your safety.

The campaign kicks off this week and will feature engaging and memorable initiatives to help protect targeted groups that are most at-risk of encountering safety hazards, including first-responder organizations and contractors. In addition, the campaign will feature an educational program for school children between kindergarten and 6^th grade.

"At FirstEnergy, safety is a core value, and our public safety campaign is a reflection of this daily focus, extending beyond our employees and into our communities," said Laura Redenshek, director, Safety and Human Performance. "Sharing information about electrical safety is part of our broader personal commitment to working safely, following all safe work practices and recognizing that we have the power to keep each other safe."

The company-wide educational and outreach initiatives include:

Radio spots, billboards, digital banner ads and paid social media support across FirstEnergy's six-state footprint.
Robust direct mail, email and web-based educational resource programs that target first responders and our most at-risk contractors, including heavy equipment operators, excavators, tree trimmers and a variety of other contractors who often work near or around energized electrical equipment.
A Stop. Look. Live. leave-behind brochure highlighting key public safety messages.

Programs launching in the future will include "Live Wire Safety Trailer" demonstrations to help educate first responders about the potential dangers of energized electrical equipment. The large trailers will feature power lines, transformers and other electric equipment as well as metal conductors, such as ladders and car doors. Demonstrations will include energizing conductors to show how electricity can travel through everyday objects.

In addition, FirstEnergy employee volunteers will visit grade schools throughout the company's service territory to present "Live Wire Safety School" which includes a safety video featuring Max Safety, FirstEnergy's fictional employee spokesperson whose mission is to minimize danger and maximize safety.

For more information about FirstEnergy's public safety campaign, including safety tips, the Max Safety school educational video and updates on upcoming educational programs, visit www.firstenergycorp.com/publicsafety.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.