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topgroove
07-20-2006, 12:28 PM
Utility worker burned when bucket hits line

The man was working in a bucket attached to a boom on a truck.



01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 19, 2006
BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer



PROVIDENCE -- A utility company worker suffered an electric shock and was severely burned yesterday afternoon when the work bucket of his truck apparently touched a wire that touched a power line.

The unnamed worker, identified by fire officials and the electric utility National Grid as a 35-year-old employee of Verizon Communications, was on fire when help arrived.

But firefighters initially were helpless, forced to hold off extinguishing the flames until they were sure the victim and the bucket were no longer electrified.

The shock "blew his shirt off and caught his pants on fire," said Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Henry Cochrane. When rescuers pulled up, according to Cochrane, the worker was twitching and afire, draped over the side of the bucket and over one or more wires.

He was semiconscious when taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where his condition was not immediately available. James Taylor, Fire Department chief of communications, said he suffered burns over 80 percent of his body.

The accident occurred on Oxford Street on the South Side, between Eddy Street and Allens Avenue, at about 3 p.m.

Although firefighters were wary at first, Cochrane said they became assured that the truck probably was not conducting electrical current.

A firefighter gingerly approached the truck and touched it in different places with an insulated rod called a "hot stick" that detects the presence of electricity.

"Then we realized the truck probably wasn't energized," Cochrane said, because the meter on the rod did not register any electricity.

Meanwhile, another Verizon employee apparently rushed to the accident scene from a Verizon depot about one-tenth of a mile away on Allens Avenue. Assured that the truck was not conducting electricity, the second Verizon employee reached into a control box on the vehicle and lowered the bucket so the flames on the victim could be put out with water.

The bucket was lowered with some trouble because a shelf that was extended from the bucket was hung up on the wires.

"It wouldn't drop because it was caught on the guy wire," Cochrane said. The shelf finally was dislodged, however, and was left hanging in the wires as the bucket came down. The underside of a yellow sun umbrella attached to the bucket was scorched black by the fire.

Cochrane said the accident apparently happened this way: The victim was working alone on a telephone line that carried no power, aloft in a work bucket attached to a boom on a truck. He moved his bucket and in the process the bucket brushed against a guy wire that helps to hold two nearby utility poles straight, making the wire more taut.

When the guy wire became more taut, according to Cochrane, it came in contact with a power line carrying what National Grid spokeswoman Debbie Drew said was 7,800 volts, and transmitted electricity to the bucket and the worker.

"It didn't give him the full [charge]," Cochrane said. "But it gave him a pretty good zap."

Asked about Cochrane's explanation, Drew said the sequence of events is unclear and National Grid will investigate. National Grid workers on Oxford Street found that the incident did not cause a loss of electrical power to neighboring buildings, according to Cochrane.

An investigator from the occupational safety division of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training also came to the scene.

Barbara Santos, who lives in a house at 80 Oxford St., where the mishap occurred, heard a commotion.

"I heard somebody saying, 'Help me,' " Santos recalled, and she came outside. The call for help, she said, came from a passerby who wanted to aid the victim.

"It was terrible," Santos said. "He [the victim] was up in the basket. I could see the smoke."

The accident occurred outside a commercial building at 72 Oxford and Santos' house.

With reports from projo.com Staff Writer Steve Peoples.

gsmith@projo.com / (401) 277-7334

http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_2...19.182031e.html

loodvig
07-21-2006, 07:52 AM
I always wondered why Verizon has those steel boom trucks. You would think with the high voltages we have today they would buy fiberglass booms.

Bull Dog
07-23-2006, 02:08 PM
I see two big problems with this accident if its repoted right. first what is a telephone guy doing in the energized zone. Two why dont firemen know its safe to spray energized equipment if you keep the spray fine. Ive done it my self many times. From the bucket and standing on the ground it dosent matter. The company that dosent train there employees anybetter than this is a bunch of losers. Version should know better. We have training for the fire service and one of the things we show them is how to put out a fire energize at 69kv. Only thing i can say is were getting careless in the effort to get her done. Get her done and everyone goes home is the only way even if it takes a little longer. I let the junior man do most of the work but when it gets hairy i strap the tools on mabey thats what we need to do. Then do it is all i can say. Need to slow down this sensless carnage!

Trampbag
07-23-2006, 05:03 PM
“The company that dosent train there employees anybetter than this is a bunch of losers.” Bulldog


The company isn’t a bunch of losers: the employees are the losers – literally. Losers of limbs and life.

Bull Dog
07-24-2006, 06:57 PM
Tramp your wrong about this one. Who goes up with a steel boom anywere contact with enegized wires is even remotly possible. Verizon does thats who. Now mabey there too stupid or mabey they dont care. I would think a man who is not a lineman should not be on a pole unless he has a insulated boom but hey that would cost so he must go in a boom that will kill. Thats his fault tell me i just dont get it. You can say all you want but the co is wrong period and i hope they pay! I dont understand how anyone can blame the worker on this one if the facts are as reported.

Trampbag
07-24-2006, 10:21 PM
If my comments were construed as meaning the Verizon employee was at fault please forgive me. I in no way would ever say anything of the sort.

Any company who is not training its employees, especially employees not qualified for high voltage electrical work whose jobs take them anywhere near a high voltage system on the same structure, is criminally negligent in my opinion. My comment about untrained employees being the “looser” was an attempt at sick humour, and in no way is to be construed in any other way.

My apologies to the family and friends of this unfortunate person.

rusty
07-25-2006, 04:40 PM
Our prayers are with him and his friends and family!

rusty
07-25-2006, 04:43 PM
Brothers and Sisters,

Just caught a little of it on the tube, but it appears we lost another Brother and one seriously burned some where up in Illinois. Anybody got and more info??? Our prayers are with them all, as is our hope for fair treatment!

billfoster67
07-25-2006, 06:47 PM
I am tired of the ignorance. I have seen those repeaters, cable boosters- ripped plenty of them of the poles- Adelphia stealing power every where.

We give the telephone guys at least 40 inches to work clear of even the secondary. But I see cable and telephone messengers jacked so tight, that the guys for the primary you can play jumprope. There is a lot of ignorance in these cable and telephone companies , they don't follow NESC rules. Their contractors that aren't union, get paid by their footage. And I use to get so mad when I built line, pretty as can be. And they would put those messengers up with that big 200 pair and coax, and that perfect sag for the primary gets all jacked up.

The training isn't there anymore. They get these young kids out of McDonalds and say hey throw this stuff up as fast as you can. Give them a three hour climbing lesson and go get it.

I know Verizon is probably not that way I don't know. Splicers and terminators are pretty well trained. But the guys that lash it, really put those guys in traps.

I hope he is ok.

dungnfam
07-26-2006, 01:54 PM
This incident was talked about at National Grids weekly safety meeting yesterday. This Verizon Employee was holding an umbrella to shade himself from the sun while he worked. The temps were in the 90's that day. Unfortunately the umbrella came in contact with the energized line. Sounds like a total lack of training and understanding on Verizons and the employees part. I'm not blaming him for what happened but common sense should have come into play also. I heard he lost some limbs but will survive.

tramp67
07-27-2006, 12:11 AM
Brothers and Sisters,

Just caught a little of it on the tube, but it appears we lost another Brother and one seriously burned some where up in Illinois. Anybody got and more info??? Our prayers are with them all, as is our hope for fair treatment!

Rusty, I think you are referring to the two separate incidents in St Louis Missouri. There's another log on here about it. The first was a troubleman for Ameren, the local utility. He was patrolling a backyard line and came into contact with a 2400 volt line that was in the bushes. This is a utility that has severely cut back on line clearance, in many places you can't even see the poles for all the vines, tree branches, etc. Not to mention what is on top of the poles, including transformers and cap banks. It's one of the most overgrown systems I have ever worked on, and now it is much more dangerous after the storm that came through here last week. Apparently the conductor was laying in the brush about chest level where he made contact, and was unfortunately killed.
The second incident happened shortly after. A 5th step apprentice working for Par Electric on the same storm work in St Louis was on a single phase, 7200 volt line in a backyard. The primary broke a short distance from the insulator tie, and the conductor in the air was still energized. There was a cutout a couple spans away, but the foreman decided to leave the line energized and the apprentice climbed the pole, taking a handline with. They were going to pull the other end of the conductor up to him, and he was supposed to reconnect it with an automatic sleeve! While the crew was in the process of sending the conductor up to him, he apparently was repositioning himself on the pole, and he made contact with the end of the energized conductor. The crew got him off the pole, and he was flown to St. John's Hospital burn center. The last unconfirmed story I heard is that he unfortunately did not survive.
My thoughts and prayers go out to both these men's families.

PSE Lineman
07-27-2006, 01:02 AM
They were going to pull the other end of the conductor up to him, and he was supposed to reconnect it with an automatic sleeve!


Whoever decided to let an ape. pick up load, with a sleeve, from the pole, ALONE , ought to be shot! At least stomp a mud hole in the face...

tramp67
07-27-2006, 11:38 PM
I couldn't believe it either. It's stupid to try to pick up anything with an automatic sleeve, most of the taps out here are #4 or #6 copper. And after a storm, not knowing if anything is faulted downstream!! Somebody was trying to be a hero, look where it got the poor AP.

electric squirrel
07-29-2006, 08:04 PM
The whole crew should be held responsible , why in the hell would an ape be on the pole by himself , near the primary, picking up load no less! Either the foreman / lineman should have pulled thier heads out of thier ASS's and not let this whole situation even be considered! :mad:

tramp67
07-30-2006, 02:35 AM
The apprentice from Par Electric that was burned in St. Louis is doing well. He is expected to be released from the hospital next week, although he has quite a bit of healing to go through yet. Apparently due to the hot weather and being soaked in sweat, the majority of the current followed the surface of his skin, and didn't cause much internal injuries, as far as the hospital staff can tell.
A little more detail on the accident, the crew was under the assumption that the line was de-energized, but they didn't verify it. A couple other major contributing factors were that the apprentice was allowed to climb into the primary zone without gloves and sleeves, they were being sent up on the handline when the accident occurred; and the pole had a telemetry cabinet for remote meter reading near the top of the pole in the primary zone, which was the second point of contact.
In my opinion, these cabinets should only be located on poles that are 100% truck accessible, not just because they are difficult to work around on the pole, but also because they are a large solidly grounded object in the primary zone that is very difficult to adequately cover up to make the work zone safe for climbing and working energized primary.

loodvig
08-04-2006, 03:28 PM
I heard today, from a Verizon guy, that the above lineman has died.

topgroove
08-04-2006, 05:47 PM
Damn. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Trampbag
08-04-2006, 08:38 PM
I was asked to post this. My family’s thoughts and condolences go to the family.


The Providence Journal received notification from Verizon this morning that the worker who was electrocuted on July 18th passed away last evening due to his injuries. His name was Joseph Allard, he was 32 years old. He leaves behind his wife, Jen and two daughters aged 5 and 3.


Posted Aug 2, 2006

rick
08-09-2006, 08:26 PM
This guy from verizon, who is now dead, was in the FIBERGLASS BUCKET!!!! He was working on the telco strand, and he was hung up on it. When he boomed down, it caused the SECONDARIES to sag thus energizing the telco span which fried him. wish you people would stop about him being unqualified in a hot zone!!

topgroove
08-10-2006, 05:19 AM
This guy from verizon, who is now dead, was in the FIBERGLASS BUCKET!!!! He was working on the telco strand, and he was hung up on it. When he boomed down, it caused the SECONDARIES to sag thus energizing the telco span which fried him. wish you people would stop about him being unqualified in a hot zone!!

So Rick,you're saying it was the secondary voltage that burnt him? My understanding of this accident is the bucket caught a primary span guy and when he moved the boom it tightened the guy which caused the primary to sag down into the span guy.

Bell Wrench
08-10-2006, 06:01 AM
My brother in law was forced from NH down to Joes' platform the day after he died. The Men who worked with him said that the pole he was working on had a primary guy 2" away from the primary with a johnny ball or breaker below the phone lines. Joe grabbed the guy above the johnny ball and leaned on the guy. This is apparently what caused the fatal accident. My brother in laws name is Randy Betts. :(

topgroove
08-10-2006, 09:07 AM
thanks bell wrench. that's exactly the way I understand the accident also. here in new york the buckets verizon uses are all non insulated.

Bull Dog
08-10-2006, 04:11 PM
Some may not like to hear it but a telephone lineman is just that. If he gets any were near anything that has anyting to do with the power co equipment there should be a power line man there period. I feel for his wife and family. A couple rubber hoses installed by the utility would have prevented this. I hope those that read this will be able to learn from it.

PSE Lineman
08-10-2006, 11:59 PM
I found a pic I took of a Comcast guy on a ladder ( he came down before I could stop and whip out my camera) while this xfmr was dangling by one bolt from the pole being hit the night before and no one bothered to call the power company , just the tv. I talked to him and told him of the hazard and he said he didn't even notice it. These young tv and phone guys must not be trained about checking out things above your head before working on their stuff. How many more have to die before it gets better?

PSE Lineman
08-11-2006, 12:03 AM
OK , I just got through uploading a picture and thought it would be on the post. WTF am I doing wrong? How do I get my pic to show up on the post....

OK , I got that SOB on here. It was tough but I did it. As you can see the Comcast guy was at the top of the ladder and was re-attaching his cable that came off. You would think with the mail box mowed down and the pole barked up that he would figure it out.....Guess NOT....


I forgot to mention , what if one of the phases were laying on the arm and he touched the pole and the ground (his messenger) and fell off the ladder? How many more have to die , damn it???