A training exercise helps local police officers respond to electric and gas emergencies. The presentation was put on by NYSEG Friday. Our Melissa Kakareka was there to see the sparks.

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JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. -- A hot dog catches fire as it touches an electrically charged fence. It's a simulation of what could happen to a human hand in a similar situation.

"We use a hot dog on one of the end of our gloves or wire and we touch that car handle or fence and pull it off and your hot dog is now cooked," explained NYSEG Chief Lineman Thomas Toton.

The demonstration was part of a seminar at NYSEG's training facility in Johnson City Friday. About 20 frontline supervisors from Southern Tier law enforcement agencies attended the presentation, which taught them about real life scenarios they might encounter. The goal was to remind the officers how to respond to electric and natural gas emergencies.

"Unfortunately, the Binghamton area has been hit pretty hard by catastrophic events with the flood and some of the storms have been violent, we've had broken poles down, trees down, wires down," said Toton.

"They are really our partners in responding to the system emergencies so we want them to have the knowledge to help keep themselves safe and the public safe," said NYSEG Manager of Corporate Communications Clayton Ellis.

But the information isn't just for police officers. NYSEG representatives say it’s also important that the public is careful around gas or power lines.

"Even lines that appear to be dead can be an extremely dangerous situation, so stay away from downed power lines. When they are doing work around their homes, they just need to be aware of their surroundings, where the power lines are, if they are going to do any digging they need to call and have underground facilities located so they don't run in to problems underground as well," said Ellis.

Providing information that helps keep everyone safe.