A primer on emergency response for electrical safety professionals

This paper provides electrical safety professionals with a general overview of the emergency response process to better prepare them to work with emergency response teams or fire brigades. This paper will explore how an emergency response team works, their function, and their authority. Emergency response planning, knowledge, and skills are required to appropriately and safely address the electrical hazards and the consequences of personnel exposure to electrical energy. Emergency response is a critical, yet often not well considered, element in any electrical safety program. Having a good understanding of emergency response teams and their work will greatly improve an electrical safety professional's ability work with emergency response teams to affect practical, safe, and effective responses to electrical related incidents.