Cima, CA-2020

Safety

Safety First The telephone is one of the safest appliances in your home or office. There are, however, a few situations where a telephone user needs to be cautious. Use Of The Telephone Near Water The telephone should not be used while you are in a bathtub, shower or pool. Immersion of the telephone or handset in water could cause electrical shock. You should avoid using a telephone during an electrical storm in your immediate area; calls of an urgent nature should be brief. Although the telephone industry uses protective measures to limit abnormal electrical surges from entering your home, absolute protection is impossible. There is a remote risk of a dangerous electrical shock from lightning when using the telephone during a nearby electrical storm. Use Of The Telephone During An Electrical Storm If you think you have found a gas leak, you should not use a telephone in the vicinity of the leak until the leak is repaired. The telephone contains electrical contacts that could generate a tiny spark when you lift the handset and dial. While unlikely, it may be possible for this spark to trigger an explosion if the gas concentration is high enough. Use of Coin Telephone –– Warning You should not use a coin telephone that has been vandalized. Please inspect the handset to be sure there are no exposed wires that could cause an electrical shock. If possible, contact telephone Repair Service 6-1-1 from another telephone to report the damaged instrument. Use Of The Telephone To Report A Gas Leak

Telephone Use In Emergencies Emergency Calls Only After a disaster, especially earthquakes, there is usually a high volume of telephone calls. It is important that you limit phone calls to emergencies only. Do not call “9-1-1” or the police for confirmation of an earthquake. Listen to your local radio or television station for information. Blocking In cases of extreme congestion of the telephone network, Ponderosa and/or long distance carriers may institute blocking. Blocking prevents overloading the system by diverting some calls to recordings, allowing other calls to complete. If you need to place an emergency call: 1. Make sure receivers of all extension phones are on the switchhook. 2. Stay on the line. You may not hear dial tone immediately; the delay could be as long as a minute or more. 3. Do not repeatedly depress the switchhook, as this will further delay your call. 4. If you receive a “fast busy” or “all circuits are busy” recording, hang up and try again. 5. If physical damage occurs in our equipment or facilities or your wiring, it may not be possible to complete your call. 6. 9-1-1 may be available where there is a power outage on your landline phone. Out of Area Contact It may be easier to call out of the disaster area during emergencies. Contact a friend or relative outside the immediate area and have this person relay messages to your other friends and relatives outside the disaster area to reduce calling in and out of the affected area.

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