PSEG Long Island Practices, Preaches and Teaches Electric Safety: October is Fire Prevention Month; Oct. 5 begins Fire Safety Week

Employee volunteers help American Red Cross install smoke alarms; PSEG Long Island electric safety presenters to visit local firehouses throughout the month

(UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Oct. 3, 2025) During Fire Safety Month in October, PSEG Long Island will be busy educating the public at a series of events held by local fire departments. Throughout the year, the company works with the American Red Cross, fire departments, schools and community organizations to provide education about electrical safety through its programs and volunteer efforts.

At the request of local fire chiefs, during October, trainers from PSEG Long Island’s utility worker academy will be making safety presentations at local fire department open house community events. With the Mobile Electric Safety Unit, a three-quarter-scale model of the electric distribution system on a 40-foot-long, 15,000-pound trailer that arcs, sparks and pops, PSEG Long Island lineworker trainers will illustrate potentially dangerous scenarios to community members in a safely controlled setting.

Unveiled in 2024, the giant trailer includes high voltage wires, poles and other structures and items that can be found around homes and neighborhoods. Using this tool, instructors from PSEG Long Island simulate scenarios, including a live wire down on a vehicle, an aluminum pool skimmer coming into contact with an overhead wire, a squirrel on the electric line shorting out the circuit, and a wire down on a metal fence.

Throughout the year, PSEG Long Island’s Mobile Electric Safety Unit visits schools, camp programs and fire houses to educate children, adults and first responders about being safe around electricity. During the month of October, the Safety Unit will be helping local firefighters educate their communities about fire safety and prevention at their community open house events as follows:

In addition to the safety education programs, throughout the year, PSEG Long Island volunteers assist the Red Cross with smoke detector installations. 

Earlier this year, PSEG Long Island employee volunteers assisted the American Red Cross to make more than 30 homes in a senior community in Manorville safer. Nine employees volunteered for the day and spoke with homeowners to educate them on fire prevention and electrical safety. They also helped create escape plans for the seniors and assisted with the installation of more than 60 smoke detectors in their homes.

“The installation event was a wonderful collaboration between the Red Cross and PSEG Long Island volunteers,” said Dawn Neilson, senior philanthropy officer, American Red Cross, Greater New York region. “A total of 31 seniors now have lifesaving smoke alarms and fire safety education thanks to the efforts of these committed volunteers.”

According to the American Red Cross, every day across the country, seven people die in home fires. Often the victims are children and the elderly, most in homes that lack working smoke alarms.

Safety is PSEG Long Island’s top priority. Along with the mobile unit, the company offers safety programs for children and adults throughout the year, including Electric Safety Town, Touch-a-Truck and the Safety Sleuth poster program. To learn more about these programs, visit psegliny.com/inthecommunity. For electric safety and fire prevention tips, visit psegliny.com/safetyandreliability/safetytips.

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PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract.  PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.