Mississippi Power practices safety culture with first responders’ best practices

Mississippi Power’s commitment to a Safety First culture was recently demonstrated in a partnership with Harrison County Law Enforcement to provide best practices for an electrical emergency.

Cadets with the Harrison County Law Enforcement Training Academy participated in the company’s First Responders’ Best Practices program focused on providing those who arrive to an emergency first with tips on how to best respond to an electrical emergency.

“I love that we have the ability to share how important it is to be safe around electrical hazards in your own backyard,” said Risk Services Supervisor Candace Labat. “You never know when you might have to use these tips.”

For more than three decades, public safety awareness programs have been offered to equip audiences like the cadets with the Harrison County Law Enforcement Training Academy on how to safely interact with electricity.

“We have used valuable programs like this since 1989,” said Sergeant Jimmy Warden of the Harrison County Law Enforcement Training Academy. “We appreciate the partnership that we have with Mississippi Power to provide best practices for the next generation of law enforcement.”

During the program, participants walk through different scenarios on the Safety City Board to demonstrate a variety of electrical emergency situations that first responders may see. They are also shown photos of real examples of different electrical hazards that first responders have encountered.  

Participants are reminded to always assume a line is energized and that someone does not have to be in direct contact with a powerline for the electricity to be in danger.

“This best practices program provides cadets and first responders with a greater awareness of electric safety. These cadets might encounter an electric emergency during situations like a traffic accident or a hurricane,” said Sergeant Warden.

The First Responders’ Best Practices program is one component to Mississippi Power’s Public Safety Awareness program including Safety City Virtual Program and the High School Electrical Safety video.

 “We are happy to equip our first responders and others with this type of program,” said Labat.  

Now in its 98th year of operations, Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and affordable energy for more than 191,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. Mississippi Power was honored with a Community Partner Impact Award from the Center for Energy Workforce Development for its innovative and ongoing efforts to build a diverse workforce. The Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve recently recognized Mississippi Power for its commitment to its military workforce. Mississippi Power has nearly 160MW of solar capacity at four locations across the company’s service territory, including Southern Company’s first project to combine the latest, cutting-edge solar technology with battery storage. Visit our websites at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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