With graduations galore in June, Southern California Edison and Alin Party Supply urge secured balloons amid record power outages and potential safety hazards.<\/p>\n
In his profession, Ivan Medina doesn\u2019t have a weight problem. And that\u2019s music to the ears of Southern California Edison.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Medina, senior assistant manager at Alin Party Supply, and his team make sure every metallic balloon that leaves their doors is properly attached to a weight, as required by state law.<\/p>\n
The reason that is important is the reason Medina, Paul Jeske, SCE\u2019s director of Corporate Health and Safety, and Scott Brown, an SCE troubleman turned fire management officer, spoke last week at Medina\u2019s store in Lakewood about the power outages and safety hazards created by released balloons.<\/p>\n
Released intentionally or not, the balloons cause hundreds of power outages yearly for SCE \u2014 in fact, a record-high 1,094 last year that affected 1.4 million customers. And no other month, with its celebration of graduations leading the way, is usually worse than June.<\/p>\n
\u201cFree-floating metallic balloons that are released outdoors continue to be a problem and challenge for Southern California Edison,\u201d said Jeske, noting that SCE experienced a one-month, all-time high of 191 outages last June. \u201cThink about that; that\u2019s six a day. This is a very important issue for us and these are very preventable outages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weights \u2014 the best prevention \u2014 are paramount for Medina, and his store won\u2019t sell a balloon without one. Nor should any balloon seller. And he recommends extra weights to customers buying bunches.<\/p>\n
In a store adorned predominantly with colorful graduation balloons of all sizes, Medina also recommended air-filled balloons, saying, \u201cThey are actually great. They do not require helium, meaning they will not float.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which is fine with Brown, who removed many metallic balloons from power lines during his nearly 14 years as an SCE troubleman. He cited a specific incident involving the flame-retardant SCE shirt he was wearing at the party store as an example of the hazards. While removing balloons from power lines once, the balloons caught fire and burning debris from them fell on his clothes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were wearing a cotton or polyester shirt, I probably would have suffered some significant burns, so they\u2019re very, very dangerous not only to the public but our employees as well,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n
Brown also reiterated the safety and economic impact of adrift balloons, adding, \u201cThey cause outages, traffic signals are impacted, elevators are impacted, businesses are really impacted. So, it is very important that we keep a good handle on metallic balloons, keep them indoors and keep them tethered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keeping them safely tied to a weight is part of SCE\u2019s continued \u201cStay Aware. Stay Safe.\u201d campaign.\u00a0SCE also supports state Assembly bill 2450. The bill, which has passed the Assembly and is now in the state Senate, would require in-state metallic balloon manufacturers to have a printed statement on balloons warning consumers about the dangerous risk of fire if the balloons come in contact with power lines.<\/p>\n
And, if you see balloons in power lines, call 911 or SCE at 1-800-611-1911 to report the problem.<\/p>\n
Though the warnings are serious, Jeske stressed that safety and nothing else is the top priority in his secure-is-safe message regarding metallic balloons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not anti-balloon, we\u2019re not party poopers,\u201d said Jeske, noting that he has three metallic balloons from Mother\u2019s Day and his wife\u2019s birthday on his kitchen table. \u201cAll we want is for folks to understand what the risks are and to be responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Metallic Balloons Safety Tips<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Metallic balloons should always be tied to a weight.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Stores and vendors should sell only properly weighted balloons.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Balloon owners should never remove the weight<\/p>\n
\u2022 Balloons should never be released outdoors.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Do not try to retrieve balloons tangled in power lines or electrical equipment.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Puncture balloons before disposing of them.<\/p>\n
Paul Jeske, SCE\u2019s director of Corporate Health and Safety, and Scott Brown, a former SCE troubleman and current fire management officer, discuss the potential hazards and ways to prevent the all-time high 1,094 balloon outages SCE experienced last year.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With graduations galore in June, Southern California Edison and Alin Party Supply urge secured balloons amid record power outages and potential safety hazards. In his profession, Ivan Medina doesn\u2019t have a weight problem. And that\u2019s music to the ears of Southern California Edison. That\u2019s because Medina, senior assistant manager at Alin Party Supply, and his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":411076,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n