Plan for Safe Portable Generator Use During High Heat/Fire Season

Industry group develops preparedness program; details best practices to avoid CO, electrical, and fire hazards

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forest fires are natural and having many in the mid- to late-summer is normal. Some conifers have even evolved to actually need fire to germinate. But there’s no doubt that big, intense burns are now more common. And this year’s fire season came about a month early and with terrifying ferocity.

Power outages are imminent.

Public safety personnel, government officials, and media are encouraged to use their platforms to prepare the public, not only for how to survive a fire, but also how to survive power outages.

Either because of Flex Alerts, Public Safety Power Shut-Offs, planned black outs, or, at worse, downed transmission lines, the demand for portable generators will peak. They can be lifesaving devices during perilous times, but they also come with their own dangers—virtually all of which are preventable.

Due to improper consumer use of portable generators, people suffer carbon monoxide poisoning. People can even start other fires as they’re trying to protect their homes from a looming wildfire. To help keep owners of portable generators and their families safe, the Portable Generator Manufacturers’ Association (PGMA) developed Take it Outside™, a program that encourages at-risk residents to start thinking about how and where generators can be safely used.

Much like preparing for any calamity, the time to plan is before a trouble strikes.

The Take it Outside program emphasizes that the only safe way to operate a portable generator is by taking it outside. This planning as to, one, where you will position your alternative energy source and, two, ensuring you have extension cord length to accommodate the safe distance, is mandatory to keep people safe from the colorless, odorless threat of carbon monoxide. The program also offers tips to avoid electrical and fire hazards.

Complete primer notes are available online and include a video and printable fact sheet.

Inevitably power outages will happen. What can and does help is preparedness. Please consider reviewing PGMA’s safety materials, make a plan, and practice the plan.

About PGMA

The Portable Generator Manufacturers’ Association (PGMA) is a trade association that seeks to develop and influence safety and performance standards for our industry’s products. PGMA members include major manufacturers of portable generators sold in North America. www.pgmaonline.com.