News
Wartime Electrical Safety
by Mike Johnston, NECA executive director, standards and safety
[Editor’s Note: Johnston drafted the following essay out of concern over reports that U.S. military personnel had been electrocuted while working in the field. Johnston is available as a media source to discuss the safety precautions that should be taken for any and all electrical installations.]
Recent reports of electrical injuries and deaths of U.S. military personnel are both alarming and disturbing.
The North American electrical safety system in this country is one of the best safety systems in the world. It has a proven record of improving electrical safety for workers and the general public. On-site safety for electrical workers, as well as public safety for the people who use and occupy these facilities, is at the heart of the electrical construction done by NECA contractors.
The North American Safety System basically involves three essential components, qualified electrical safety testing laboratories, effective codes and standards, and conformance assessment. It can be compared to a three-legged stool – if any of the legs is missing, it breaks down. Is the electrical safety system broken in wartime settings, or does it even exist at all?
When the nation is at war, we call upon qualified, trained personnel to do their military duty and help keep us safe. Pilots are trained to fly planes, tank operators are trained drive tanks, and so on. Wartime conditions often call for temporary infrastructures, including electrical wiring, to support our troops.
But “temporary” doesn’t equate “cutting corners on safety,” especially when we clearly know what it takes to have safe electrical systems – qualified installers, following the appropriate safety codes, and communicating the hazards involved. The two most important technical considerations for any electrical installation are electrical safety and electrical system reliability. The electricians who directly perform the work and the contractors who employ them should follow recognized standards of safety and quality.
Are the people doing this electrical wiring qualified to do so, and what method of safety conformity is being applied? Are the minimum requirements of applicable safety codes being applied? Statistics would indicate that there is either a complacency or lack of attention given to electrical installations and electrical safety for service personnel in temporary bases. But nothing is different between the need for electrical safety for us in the U.S. and our military on wartime duty in other countries.
NECA is keenly interested and invested in electrical safety, and when these reports of electrical injuries and deaths started surfacing, it was a sign that not everything is being doing done to ensure safety for our military personnel. It is bad enough that there is significant risk of injury or death for those who serve the country and are at war from wartime causes. But to hear about deaths and injuries from electrical installations (temporary or not) is troubling, to say the least.
Our national model for electrical safety has been used successfully for more than 100 years. I think we all understood that with any war, there will be injuries and deaths. But where it can be prevented, it should be. Electrical safety can’t be taken for granted and it shouldn’t be ignored in temporary installations. Ultimately, the price is just too high to pay.
Contact Information
Beth Margulies, Director, Public Relations
301-215-4526, beth.margulies@necanet.org
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