What Happens When You Suffer A Blackout?
A blackout can be a scary thing if you have never experienced one before. If you are standing in the office one minute and in pitch black the next, you can feel as though you are at the start of a horror movie. Blackouts can happen for many different reasons, and they are one of those things which can happen now and again to you. Here is what you can do if you ever end up in this situation.
Preparing
It always pays to be prepared for issues like this, so make sure that you do all of these things to prepare just in case you do ever end up in a blackout.
Emergency stash
An emergency stash can be a lifesaver when you are caught inside in a blackout. You will need to make sure that you have battery packs for your phone, lights, food, drinks, blankets and everything else you could possibly need during your stay. Because you don’t know how long it will be until the power comes on, you need to prepare for the long haul.
Get a generator
The most important thing you can get yourself when you suffer a blackout is a diesel generator. A generator is one of the most crucial items you can have in your office building or at home and you should make sure that you know how to use it and that you have lots of extra fuel for it in case you are stuck for a long while.
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During
During a blackout, it is important not to panic. If you are worried when a blackout first occurs, there are some things that you can do to make sure that you have a successful blackout and you can get back on track as soon as possible.
Check the breaker switch
The moment that the power goes out in your Home or in the office, you should go straight to your electrical panel and make sure that everything is as it should be. If you notice any of the switches are turned off, turn it back on and see if the power comes back on. You can also check outside your house and look at other houses in your neighbourhood. If only your house if affected, it is clearly an internal issue and you can get someone over to check it for you.
Avoid candles
Although you always see people on TV lighting tens of candles when the lights go out. You shouldn’t use the candles as your main source of light. You can light one or two for some ambience, but in actual fact you are better off using flashlights. These are not a fire hazard and they give brighter light off anyway so they are more effective.
Unplug everything
Sometimes the cause of a blackout might be a shortage when you have plugged in an appliance or a gadget, so when a blackout occurs you need to make sure that you unplug everything in the house and make sure that your power can reboot itself without the risk of a fire or explosion.
Hi, I'm Kelly O'Donnell.