Our good friends at Pennsylvania 811 do a great contest every year that benefits fire companies while promoting public safety.

And it’s pretty simple.

Fire companies are asked to post an 811 message on the marquee outside their fire hall, take a photograph of it and send it to contact@pa1call.org.

Pennsylvania 811 will promote all of the entries on its Facebook page and on Twitter.

And those fire companies that send along photographs are entered in four different drawings for a $500 prize. Those drawings take place on July 1, Aug. 1, Sept. 2 and Nov. 23. So each fire company has four chances to win $500, while displaying a very important message.

Click here for details. If you’re a firefighter, or you know one, please share the information. You may be a winner!

April is a perfect month to get that message out for everyone to see, since it is National Safe Digging Month.

PPL Electric Utilities is proud to be among the utilities that sponsor the contest because we know calling 811 can save lives. Pennsylvania 811, the state’s 811 call center, says that underground utility lines are damaged every six minutes because someone digs without first dialing 811.

State law requires that an 811 call be made before digging with power equipment. When dialing 811, callers are connected to Pennsylvania 811, which notifies the appropriate utilities of an impending dig. Professional locators are then sent out to mark the site to show the location of underground utilities such as power lines.