Hurricane Sandy reminds us to review our portable generator safety tips

About NFPA

The mission of the international nonprofit NFPA, established in 1896, is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

Free Access

Save 25% on the 2014 NEC

Register today

Subscription Services

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog reflect the personal opinion of the individual author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of NFPA, its technical committees, or other constituent parts. Use of this blog is subject to NFPA's Terms of Use and Content Disclaimers.

« Statue of Liberty to reopen following a series of fire and life safety improvements | Main | What was the inspiration behind the Safety Design and Sustainable Buildings Symposium? »

10/26/2012

With Hurricane Sandy coming up the East Coast, NFPA wants to remind everyone to refresh their memories about generator safety. Portable generators are useful during power outages. However, many homeowners are unaware that the improper use of portable generators can be risky. The most common dangers associated with portable generators are carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, electrical shock or electrocution, and fire hazards.

Facts and figures:

CO deaths associated with generators have spiked in recent years as generator sales have risen.
In 1999, generators were associated with 6% of the total yearly estimated CO poisoning deaths associated with all consumer products compared to 24% in 2002.
There were at least 64 deaths in 2005 alone from CO poisoning associated with generators.

Read all of NFPA's generator safety tips and download our free safety tip sheet.

Posted by Lauren Backstrom on 10/26/2012 at 10:10 AM in Safety | Permalink

Technorati Tags: carbon monoxide, electricity, Hurricane Sandy, NFPA, portable generator, power outage, safety tips

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Also importatnt to check electrical security at home.
Fuse boxes, main electric panels, emergency lightning, etc.
Electric accidents at home specially during emergency situations, must be prevented.

Posted by: Luis Albeto Lopez | 10/27/2012 at 02:56 PM

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by: |

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Your comment could not be posted. Error type:

Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.