Students Learn Electrifying Lessons

On Wednes­day at Fairview Junior High School, North West­ern Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive put on a high volt­age safety demon­stra­tion to edu­cate the stu­dents on how to stay safe in sit­u­a­tions where downed power lines may be present.

Dur­ing the pre­sen­ta­tion, the stu­dents were shown, in graphic detail, what hap­pens when any­thing from a bal­loon to a tire hits a live wire. To show what could hap­pen if some­one touches a live wire, a hot dog was used as a stand-in for a human fin­ger. The result was a scorched hot dog. After the live demon­stra­tion, stu­dents were able to pick up and try on some of the rub­ber gloves and sleeves worn by those who work on the lines. North West­ern, based in Bryan, serves 6,160 cus­tomers with a sys­tem con­sist­ing of 69 miles of high volt­age trans­mis­sion lines.