Which statement is true about a receptacle for a drinking fountain?

Which statement is true about a receptacle for a drinking fountain?

• A. GFCI protected
• B. readily accessible
• C. GFCI protected and readily accessible
• D. neither

Answer: (C)

The important idea here is safety for outlets in wet or damp locations. A receptacle that serves a drinking fountain must be protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to quickly cut power if there’s a ground fault, reducing the risk of electric shock in a wet environment. It also must be readily accessible so you can reach it easily and, if the GFCI trips, you can test and reset it without having to move or crawl behind equipment. That’s why the best statement is that it’s both GFCI protected and readily accessible. If it were only GFCI protected but not easily reachable, resetting after a trip would be impractical; if it were readily accessible but not GFCI protected, it wouldn’t provide the necessary shock protection in a wet location. The combination covers both safety aspects required for this type of receptacle.

The important idea here is safety for outlets in wet or damp locations. A receptacle that serves a drinking fountain must be protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to quickly cut power if there’s a ground fault, reducing the risk of electric shock in a wet environment. It also must be readily accessible so you can reach it easily and, if the GFCI trips, you can test and reset it without having to move or crawl behind equipment.

That’s why the best statement is that it’s both GFCI protected and readily accessible. If it were only GFCI protected but not easily reachable, resetting after a trip would be impractical; if it were readily accessible but not GFCI protected, it wouldn’t provide the necessary shock protection in a wet location. The combination covers both safety aspects required for this type of receptacle.