Super Safety Saturday

Children gaped in awe as they watched Pat Griffith, a safety & loss control coordinator at United,  draw emerald-green arcs of electricity off the power line that flashed to purplish white and disappeared with a quiet crackle. 

Despite dark clouds and humidity, the gloom didn’t dampen interest in United’s arcing demonstration exhibition during Super Safety Saturday in Burleson on May 17. 

United was one of 34 organizations that brought a safety message to the forefront for about 450 attendees. Hosted by Texas Health Neighborhood Care and Wellness, the event, which began in 2015 to promote water safety, has morphed to bring messages on all safety-related topics to area families.

Still dressed in his Red Sox baseball uniform from a game earlier that morning, 7-year-old Knox Malicoat dragged his mom, Carissa, from the family’s barbecue trailer to watch the arcing demonstration.

“It was good,” Knox said after watching the demonstration. “I learned never to go next to the power lines and with squirrels and birds why they won’t get zapped.”

His mom, Nicole, said Knox couldn’t contain his excitement.

“Did you see that arc,” she said. “What little boy is not going to be excited about that? And I think it’s very important for him to learn about power lines. Plus, the kids are always questioning why is it that the squirrels and the birds can touch the power lines. So, they were able to explain that to us.” 

Niccolo Jones, 7, came with his mother, Nicole, and his grandmother, Denise, who was visiting from North Carolina. Nicole said the family had stopped by because they wanted to check out what was going on in the community.

Niccolo said he enjoyed watching the fire from the arcing demo and how the lineman put gloves on to do his work safely.

The most important thing he said he learned?

“Don’t play around power lines,” he said after some gentle encouragement from his grandma. 

“And what does electricity do for your toys and stuff?” Grandma Denise asked. “Does it make the toys work?”

“Oh, right,” Niccolo answered.

Griffith said being able to use the arcing demonstration and show the power of electricity not only helps educate children and adults about the dangers  that electricity can pose, but also offers the co-op an opportunity to showcase the safety that United builds into its infrastructure and that its employees use to safely bring power to members every day. 

“United participates in these safety events to foster a sense of community pride and cohesion,” he  said. “This year’s Super Safety Saturday had a great turnout. This event is immensely beneficial because it brings safety education to the community. The kids are typically shy at first until they see the arcing demonstration, and then they get engaged with questions. That’s when I know I have their attention, and they seem to be more interested in what we have to say about electrical safety.” 

Amber Fogelman is the program manager of community relations and physician outreach at Texas Health. She said Super Safety Saturday’s main goal is to educate the community to help avoid preventable accidents and introduce them to other resources available to them in the community.

“We love the impact Super Safety Saturday has on our community,” she said. “Even if we prevent just one accident, that is a positive. United’s arcing demonstration is one of the most important safety lessons we have at our event. You can let people know the dangers, but the demonstration actually shows the dangers. We are so happy to partner with United every year on this.”