Firefighter Tools: Voltage Tester

Video Transcript

"One of the most convenient and handy tools to carry as a firefighter is a simple voltage tester. Now there's several voltage testers available on the market. There's the type that have the two individual wires that you use manually to touch live wires to see if you actually have voltage in them or not. Or the battery operated one, which is the one that I like to use so I don't have a problem and a hazard when I'm trying to touch two individual bare wires that may be energized. The battery one basically is taken, turned on, put next to a live wire and it will emit a light and a beep and a tone to let me know whether that wire is energized and actually a hazard. The beauty of the voltage tester? If we have a small fire occur in a dwelling such as on top of the stove, the damage is the range hood that maybe encompassing a light bulb or a fan, we can take the voltage tester and isolate that specific individual item like the range hood and tell when we have the power off so we can go ahead and remove that damaged piece of equipment during the overhaul process. The voltage tester is a very handy and convenient tool to carry as a firefighter."