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mscheuerer
12-17-2006, 07:34 PM
Guy's...A South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) Lineman was electrocuted thursday while trying restore power while working from a hydraulic bucket.

Let's Please try to be safe out there and extra cautious. The holidays are approaching and would like to continue to see everyone going home. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. If anyone hears anything else about this unfortunate incident, please advise.

Regards,
Mike


FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2006/11/16/news/doc455d36205209c877547325.txt


QUOTE FROM ABOVE:

SCE&G lineman electrocuted while repairing storm damage


By DIONNE GLEATON T&D Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006

BAMBERG – A Denmark native and 19-year employee of South Carolina Electric and Gas was electrocuted early Thursday morning while trying to restore power in Bamberg following strong thunderstorms in the area.

Ken Butler, 41, was electrocuted at about 6 a.m. while working from a hydraulic bucket to clear power lines.

“Obviously, it’s a very tough day for our company. He was restoring power that had gone out after a line of thunderstorms had gone through in that area. There were some co-workers there that tried to perform CPR before he was transported to Bamberg Hospital, but he passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital,” SCE&G spokesman Eric Boomhower said.

Denmark Mayor Carrie Sojourner was a next-door neighbor of the Butler family and joined others in the Denmark community who sent their condolences to the family and Butler’s co-workers.

“I am so saddened. The city of Denmark expresses their condolences to the Butler family. Personally, as a neighbor and friend, I am very upset and saddened over this young man’s untimely death. He was such a nice young man. I saw him grow up and become a fine family man. He was a good citizen in our Denmark community,” Sojourner said.

Ken’s father, Norman Butler, was a long-serving police officer with the Denmark Police Department. He had also worked as a security guard at Voorhees College upon retiring from the city.

SCE&G President Kevin Marsh said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ken’s family. This is a tragic day for our company and a devastating reminder of the dangers of our business and daily work and the importance of safety in everything we do.”

SCE&G is conducting an investigation to determine what caused the accident.

Boomhower said the band of thunderstorms didn’t cause an extensive amount of power outages in The T&D Region, with 21 customers out of power in Orangeburg as of late Thursday morning. He said less than 50 customers were out of power in the Bamberg and Denmark areas.

Randy Etters, spokesman for the Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities, said there was no widespread loss of power in the Orangeburg area.

“We had less than half a dozen customers out due to the wind, four to six. We did have one situation that was caused by wind, where an SCE&G line fell on our line and caused a short. We couldn’t energize that line until SCE&G energized their side. That was on Kinard Road,” Etters said.

“There are somewhere between eight and 12 customers on that road, and that was kind of an isolated event. It was a very light evening for our service guys,” he said.

George Bonnette, emergency planner for the Orangeburg County Department of Emergency Services, said there were no reports of damage made to the department.

“There were none that we know; none that’s been reported,” Bonnette said.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

tramp67
12-17-2006, 08:34 PM
My thoughts and wishes go out to Ken's family. It is always very saddening to hear about the loss of one of our brothers. When we learn more details of what happened, may we all learn from what went wrong so at the very least, Ken's tragedy will hopefully help to keep his fellow brothers safe.

CenterPointEX
12-17-2006, 10:07 PM
Amen Tramp ...................

BigClive
12-18-2006, 12:27 AM
SCE&G lineman electrocuted while repairing storm damage

SCE&G President Kevin Marsh said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ken’s family. This is a tragic day for our company and a devastating reminder of the dangers of our business and daily work and the importance of safety in everything we do.”


The guys did provide CPR at the site, but that doesn't resynchronise a heart that's been knocked out of sync by a shock. A defibrillator does. Maybe SCE&G might like to consider buying and fitting small cheap rugged defibrillators in their trucks.

At least one NewZealand company is doing this. That's just such wonderful news.

One day workers in the industry will wake up and realise that these things aren't the scary big machines that used to be seen on TV hospital shows. They are a small unit that is simply a tool for resynchronising linemens hearts and getting them working again if they have an accident. That's all. Relative to the cost of the other gear on a truck they are insignificant.

As far as ruggedness goes.... Wait 'til I check the multimeter I've had for 20 years.... Yup, it's still going strong despite knocking about in a van most of it's life.

Just SOMEBODY raise the issue with their management. Please!

tramp67
12-18-2006, 01:27 AM
Several of the contractors I've worked for in the Midwest, along with some of the utilities I have worked for decided to outfit their trucks with AED's, and have provided training on their use. They are very simple to use, all you need to do is attach two adhesive-backed pads to the victim's chest - a picture is on each pad as to the placement - then push a button. The machine monitors the heart, decides if it is a shockable rythm, decides how big of a charge to give, and all you need to do is push a button when the machine tells you to do so. Most have a simulated voice, so you don't even need to look at the machine, just do what it says. As BigClive says, safety managers should look into this, it is a very inexpensive tool relative to anything else the company does, and it would go a long way towards showing a good faith effort on the part of the company to do what it can to help protect linemen's lives. Even the cost of outfitting every truck with one of these compared to the cost of training one new lineman should be easy for the beancounters to justify the expense.

mscheuerer
12-18-2006, 09:38 AM
They are very simple to use, all you need to do is attach two adhesive-backed pads to the victim's chest - a picture is on each pad as to the placement - then push a button.

Tramp, I couldn't agree more, you and B.C. are correct in all aspects. These machines are SO EASY to operate, a simple 1-2 hour seminar in training and instruction is all that is needed. They are basically idiot proof and are relatively inexpensive. Most of our upper management and line crew supervisors cars/trucks are equiped with these units. They havent yet outfitted each and every line truck but I do know that there are quite a few of them on the street at any given time either on the jobsite or within a couple mile radious that can be called upon. I know time is of the escence in these type of matters so I am going to be fair by saying that at least we have what we have right now and not NOTHING. In Ken's unfortunate situation, the crew (his friends) did exactly what they were trained to do and initiated CPR which should be done immediately regardless of situation to keep blood flow to the brain and attempt to keep the heart up until professional help arrives. I commend them for their efforts. It will be very interesting to see what the outcome will be and reasoning behind it. If you read the article carefully there is also mention about their line dropping and shorting on another line as well as NOT being able to re-energise one line due to the next not being cleared, etc... I think there will be a lot of speculation on this one. The facts just arent here yet. Maybe some of our seniors can more information???

shaun
12-18-2006, 04:16 PM
Very sad news. My thoughts out to his family and co-workers. You guys are spot on about the AED's. We just went through another re-qual on CPR and it's amazing how it's changed since the last time. Those AED's are a great asset to us. I hope they put them in the trucks as well and more so, I hope I never have to use one. Take care guys.