• If you are in the vehicle, staying in it until help arrives is your safest option.
• If you can move the vehicle away from the lines, do so cautiously. Otherwise, do not move until the lines have been de-energized.
• Only exit the vehicle due to fire or other life-threatening circumstances. Be sure to jump free of the vehicle and hop away. Never touch the ground and the equipment at the same time.
• If the line has fallen on the ground or a piece of equipment, assume it is energized, stay clear and contact your local utility.

Keeping heavy equipment at least 10 feet from power lines is essential to ensuring safety. Even if you don't use heavy equipment on a daily basis, you need to maintain the 10-foot circle of safety. Long tools and equipment such as metal conduits, scaffolding, rebar, bull-floats, and aluminum ladders are just a few examples of conductive tools that can be dangerous if used without caution on the job.

Remember, the 10-foot circle of safety applies to your body as well as to the farthest end of anything you may be carrying or working with. It only takes a split second to turn your tool of the trade into an energized conductor, resulting in catastrophic injuries.

Regardless of the project, electrical safety is paramount to ensure going home safely at the end of the day. No task is so urgent and no job so important that safety is forsaken in order to "get it done."

The best assurance against injury from power lines is personal commitment to safety. The most value on any job is not the material, the equipment, the deadline or even the profit. The most value on any job is and always should be human life.

Dennis Gleason is senior training specialist for PECO (http://www.peco.com), the electric and natural gas utility based in Philadelphia, and a member of the Survivors' Advisory Council of the Burn Foundation (www.burnfoundation.org), anon-profit organization serving Philadelphia, southern New Jersey and Delaware. He has conducted numerous trainings on electrical safety issues and has worked in conjunction with the Burn Foundation and PECO to produce a safety training video on preventing electrical injuries among contractors. He can be reached at dennis.gleason@exeloncorp.com.