Harvest is underway in Saskatchewan and SaskPower is reminding farmers to make safety their priority when working this fall.
“We understand that farmers are very busy this time of year, but safety should still be top of mind when working in the fields,” said Nidal Dabghi, director of Safety at SaskPower.
“Preparation and attentiveness are key to a safe harvest.
Slow down, take the time you need, and stay alert.”
There have been 219 farm-related line contacts this year to date, representing a 17 per cent increase over the same period last year.
SaskPower strongly urges farmers to take the proper steps when working near power lines, including:
- Plan a route ahead of time with the Look Up and Live Map on saskpower.com
- Take regular breaks to avoid fatigue and to stay alert
- Have a spotter on the ground when working near power lines
- Retract or lower equipment when moving to another field
In the event of a line contact, remain in your vehicle and call the SaskPower Outage Centre at 310-2220. Should a fire start outside the vehicle, operators should follow the safe exit procedure:
- Swing the vehicle door wide open, making sure no wires are in the way
- Stand in the doorway of the vehicle, with arms crossed and feet together
- Jump as far from the vehicle as possible, landing with feet together
- With arms crossed and feet together, hop at last ten meters away from the vehicle
- Call 911 at once
- Do not return to the vehicle until the area has been made safe
For more information on safety working near power lines, visit saskpower.com/lookupandlive.
