May is National Electrical Safety Month.(REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK)

Claims, May, 2005

The Electrical Safety Foundation International has designated May National Electrical Safety Month. Although some data suggest that electrical safety awareness is on the rise, most deaths and injuries caused by electrical hazards are preventable, the foundation noted.

Approximately three people die each day in residential electrical-related fires and accidental electrocutions in the home, according to statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Between 1994 and 1998, an annual average of 165,380 electrical-related home structure fires accounted for an annual average of 910 deaths, approximately 7,000 injuries, and nearly $1.7 billion in property damage.

Electrical hazards also are present in the work place. In 2001, 285 people were...

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