Students Become Safety Heroes Ahead Of Storm Season

Primary school students across the Cassowary Coast and Hinchinbrook are being armed with potentially lifesaving electrical safety lessons ahead of Queensland’s storm season.

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The Queensland Government’s Safety Heroes program is being rolled out across primary schools during Electrical Safety Fortnight, running from 31st August to 11th September.

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Delivered through Ergon Energy and Energex, the program provides teachers with interactive, curriculum-aligned resources designed to teach Prep to Year 6 students how electricity works and how to stay safe around electrical equipment and hazards.

This year, a record 99 per cent of Queensland primary schools have registered for the program.

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The lessons are particularly timely as communities prepare for the upcoming storm season, when severe weather and flooding can create dangerous electrical hazards.

Ergon Area Manager Jason Rowe said students were taught to remain at least 10 metres away from electrical hazards and tell an adult, who should report the danger to emergency services on Triple Zero (000).

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“The children learn water is a good conductor of electricity, so they should never use wet electrical appliances or power points that have been submerged,” Mr Rowe said.

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“Floodwaters can conceal many hazards, including fallen powerlines, so we remind children never to enter swollen creeks or rivers.”

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Treasurer and Minister for Energy David Janetzki said teaching young Queenslanders how to respond to electrical hazards was particularly important given the state’s exposure to severe weather, bushfires and floods.

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The Safety Heroes program aims to give students practical knowledge they can use both at home and throughout their communities.

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