Accidents I have known.

[dbrown20]

The following are accidents I have known and have direct knowledge. I know of quite a few more but don't remember sufficient detail to make a good discription of them.

#1. On a routine night time change out of a bad transformer a lineman climbed the pole and made contact with the top of the cutout and was killed. I was told later that they gathered him up from a bar where he had been drinking.

#2.Boom fell on bucket truck killing contractor hand. I knew him and remember he was from Indiana.

#3. Pole was pulled and was top heavy. App. clung to butt and turned loose too late and broke his wrist when he hit the ground. I worked some with this app. He was a funny kid. I remember he said. "Confucius say woman who fly unside down have nasty crack up"..

#4. Backfeed through a 2400 volt transformer kills lineman on pole. I was there.

#5. Contractor App. reached from pole and grasped 477 ACSR energized at 7200. He lost hand and foot. They said he was making a good hand. I remember the old supt. showed us his leather Kuntz gloves and his Westcoast boots with holes burned in them.

#6. Lineman on pole was "beating" or "bumping" new wire in order to even up the sag with an existing energized phase. He got up too high with his rubbers and made contact. He lost one hand. He wore a hook. I was acquainted with him. He used that hook for opening oil cans and beer. Before pop tops.

#7. App. touched the ungrounded case of a single bushing pot on a trouble call. He was wearing leather gloves and received burns to both hands and fell to the ground fracturing a vertebrae in his back. He was off work for quite awhile but made a full recovery. Good friend of mine.

#8. A lineman made contact with 115 KV while changing out a switch and was killed. Worked on a crew with him once.

#9. Lineman climbed pole on 4 KV, and while waiting on the other hand, decided to tighten the 3/8 brace bolt wearing leather gloves. He brushed a phase and lost 2 fingers. I think it was on his right hand. I knew him also.

#10. Truckdriver put boom into phase and not realizing it stepped down from the corner mt. platform to the ground. He was killed. Same co. but different area.

#11.Lineman went up alone in new bucket while on trouble call. He made contact with a cutout and was killed. Same co. different area. He was in a one man area and when the crew came out to help him he wanted to try out that bucket.

#12. While hot sticking with another lineman from the pole to change out an underarm disconnect a lineman reached out with his leather gloves to hang the handline on the DA bolts at the end of the arm. A dead end bell was tracking over and he lost a foot and a hand. Supt. made a shitty remark about this guy. Said, "He was a typical Southern Calif. bucket lineman."

#13. Climbing a bare pole a lineman flippled his safety over the top of the pole and fell to the ground killing him. This was an REC hand nearby where I worked.

#14. On a very windy day a lineman was climbing one pole in an H fixture of a 115 KV line. He fell and was killed. This happened on the South Platte Project of the USBR. I worked with his friend.

#15. Three lineman were working on the top of a 115 KV transformer in a substation. It was accidently energized. One was killed, one was paralyzed from the waist down and the other received a burn on one heel. The one with the heel burn was my foreman for awhile. Good hand.

#16. A lineman placed a megger on a supposed de-energized pd mt. It was live and he received a pretty good flash burn. Made full recovery. Worked with him some but was gone when this happened.

#17. Lineman was on pole terminating URD primary. He made contact with the OH primary and was severely burned. He made a full recovery but is severely scarred. Saw him the other day. Still doing fine.

#18. Two lineman and a non-working supervisor were severely flash burned when a 600 volt rotation meter is placed on the 2400 volt secondary of a pd mt. All made full recovery but still have visible scarring. The 2 linemen eventually drug up but the other guy is still working there.

#19. Serviceman killed on storm recovery when contact is made with downed phase. I knew him but not all that good.

#20. Lineman killed while working on feeder exit cable on side of control house. Got on wrong cable. Didn't know him although we worked for same co. Different area.

#21. App. severely flashed on 138 KV. Ended his career. Didn't know him, but I saw him once in a restaurant. Didn't look good.


#22. Outrigger placed on linemans big toe. Severe crushing injury. Made it back to work after recovery. Worked some with this guy.

#23. Outrigger placed on lineman's foot. Fractured foot. Made full recovery. Had a class with him once and worked around him some.

#24. Two linemen closing in S.B. disconnects from bucket were flash burned slightly as dispatcher had closed sub breaker inadvertently, causing them to pick up unexpected load. Made OK recovery. Knew both of them. One is now dead and the other working out of the hall. He's a damn good hand.

#25.Lineman on pole touched bottom of open dip fuse thinking it was de-energized. Received burns. Made satisfactory recovery. REC contract hand. Don't know him but I am acquainted with his foreman.

#26. On storm break lineman was lifting wire with boom truck. It hung up and then flipped up hitting one man in mouth removing 6 teeth. The operator of the boom truck is long gone but the other guy is still there. A whale of a hand.

#27 Lineman made contact while attempting to build 2 pot bank on supposedly de-energized line. It wasn't and he was severely burned. He made recovery eventually and returned to work. Different area, I've met him but don't know him that well.

#28. Hanging guy from bucket with leather gloves lineman made primary contact and lost both arms. Didn't know him, but same entity. Just a different area.

#29. Hanging dead end of wire strung out on ground, with leather gloves lineman makes contact with energized phase and is killed.Same entity, different area.

#30. Another guy with a municipality does the guy hang with leather gloves and is killed when he makes contact with primary while holding onto ground. Heard of this one in a safety meeting.

#31. While hanging c/o arm underneath existing arm oil field electrician makes contact with one phase of 34.5 KV and loses both arms. Went out there on my day off and helped these electricians finish up hanging a 277/480 bank etc. They were spooked.

#32. While setting new pole with guy attached contact is made with primary and ground hand on pole is killed. REC contractor. Heard of it in safety meeting.

#33. While wearing leather gloves lineman reaches for connector tossed up from ground and simultanously touches case of Kyle with body and phase with hand. He is killed. Nearby REC. One of my fellow hands' father was the foreman who tossed up the connector to the man.

#34. While on storm break fatigued lineman climbs pole and makes contact with 7200 primary and is killed. Nearby power co. Didn't know this man.

#35. Troubleman climbs pole with one transformer of split bank and brushes primary backfeed. He receives no burns but the shock causes him to fall and break his back, paralyzing him from waist down. Worked with a friend of his.

#36. Lineman gets in series with open leads on 115 KV wave trap resulting in unconsciousness and blisters on his fingers. He makes full recovery. Same crew as me but my pole buddy and I were patroling a distance from there when this happened. Kinda funny if you knew him.

#37. While tying in new phase lineman inadvertently makes primary contact resulting in severe fire and his death. I knew him and had worked with him.

#38. Lineman climbs pole to unhang wire caught in stringing dolly. There is no traveling ground on new wire. This contract hand was killed while wearing leather gloves as new wire had contacted live primary. Didn't know him.

#39. A railroad lineman climbs a short telegraph/telephone pole and makes contact with a phase of baggy 7200 volt primary with his head. He was killed. Worked for the muni that owned the primary.

#40.A landowner is killed while repairing his barb wire fence when a phase of 7200 breaks and falls on the fence. The power co. troubleman finds the body. My old alma mater.

#41. On a storm break an app. touches a downed primary phase and receives significant burns on his hand and foot. He makes a full recovery after burn treatment in the hospt. Know him well.

#42. While boom of linetruck is in contact with primary phase a lineman touches the truck and receives a severe shock putting him in the hospital overnight. He made a full recovery. This was the guy that touched the water can to get a drink. I remember he was a Colo. native.

I still do not consider this dangerous work. It is mostly dangerous if you're not always cut in.

[77liner]

Im not sure how you can figure that line work is not dangerous.
How many engineers do you know that have been killed or lost a limb while working in the electrical industry.
An old foreman told me when I was just a pup breaking in to the trade, electicity is something you dont want to be afraid of but you must have the ultimate respect of it. Its like messing with a time bomb forget what your doing or dont keep your head cut in you kill yourself or your pole partner!
Words I try to live by today

[boyakasha]

The following are accidents I have known and have direct knowledge. I know of quite a few more but don't remember sufficient detail to make a good discription of them.

#1. On a routine night time change out of a bad transformer a lineman climbed the pole and made contact with the top of the cutout and was killed. I was told later that they gathered him up from a bar where he had been drinking.

#2.Boom fell on bucket truck killing contractor hand. I knew him and remember he was from Indiana.

#3. Pole was pulled and was top heavy. App. clung to butt and turned loose too late and broke his wrist when he hit the ground. I worked some with this app. He was a funny kid. I remember he said. "Confucius say woman who fly unside down have nasty crack up"..

#4. Backfeed through a 2400 volt transformer kills lineman on pole. I was there.

#5. Contractor App. reached from pole and grasped 477 ACSR energized at 7200. He lost hand and foot. They said he was making a good hand. I remember the old supt. showed us his leather Kuntz gloves and his Westcoast boots with holes burned in them.

#6. Lineman on pole was "beating" or "bumping" new wire in order to even up the sag with an existing energized phase. He got up too high with his rubbers and made contact. He lost one hand. He wore a hook. I was acquainted with him. He used that hook for opening oil cans and beer. Before pop tops.

#7. App. touched the ungrounded case of a single bushing pot on a trouble call. He was wearing leather gloves and received burns to both hands and fell to the ground fracturing a vertebrae in his back. He was off work for quite awhile but made a full recovery. Good friend of mine.

#8. A lineman made contact with 115 KV while changing out a switch and was killed. Worked on a crew with him once.

#9. Lineman climbed pole on 4 KV, and while waiting on the other hand, decided to tighten the 3/8 brace bolt wearing leather gloves. He brushed a phase and lost 2 fingers. I think it was on his right hand. I knew him also.

#10. Truckdriver put boom into phase and not realizing it stepped down from the corner mt. platform to the ground. He was killed. Same co. but different area.

#11.Lineman went up alone in new bucket while on trouble call. He made contact with a cutout and was killed. Same co. different area. He was in a one man area and when the crew came out to help him he wanted to try out that bucket.

#12. While hot sticking with another lineman from the pole to change out an underarm disconnect a lineman reached out with his leather gloves to hang the handline on the DA bolts at the end of the arm. A dead end bell was tracking over and he lost a foot and a hand. Supt. made a shitty remark about this guy. Said, "He was a typical Southern Calif. bucket lineman."

#13. Climbing a bare pole a lineman flippled his safety over the top of the pole and fell to the ground killing him. This was an REC hand nearby where I worked.

#14. On a very windy day a lineman was climbing one pole in an H fixture of a 115 KV line. He fell and was killed. This happened on the South Platte Project of the USBR. I worked with his friend.

#15. Three lineman were working on the top of a 115 KV transformer in a substation. It was accidently energized. One was killed, one was paralyzed from the waist down and the other received a burn on one heel. The one with the heel burn was my foreman for awhile. Good hand.

#16. A lineman placed a megger on a supposed de-energized pd mt. It was live and he received a pretty good flash burn. Made full recovery. Worked with him some but was gone when this happened.

#17. Lineman was on pole terminating URD primary. He made contact with the OH primary and was severely burned. He made a full recovery but is severely scarred. Saw him the other day. Still doing fine.

#18. Two lineman and a non-working supervisor were severely flash burned when a 600 volt rotation meter is placed on the 2400 volt secondary of a pd mt. All made full recovery but still have visible scarring. The 2 linemen eventually drug up but the other guy is still working there.

#19. Serviceman killed on storm recovery when contact is made with downed phase. I knew him but not all that good.

#20. Lineman killed while working on feeder exit cable on side of control house. Got on wrong cable. Didn't know him although we worked for same co. Different area.

#21. App. severely flashed on 138 KV. Ended his career. Didn't know him, but I saw him once in a restaurant. Didn't look good.


#22. Outrigger placed on linemans big toe. Severe crushing injury. Made it back to work after recovery. Worked some with this guy.

#23. Outrigger placed on lineman's foot. Fractured foot. Made full recovery. Had a class with him once and worked around him some.

#24. Two linemen closing in S.B. disconnects from bucket were flash burned slightly as dispatcher had closed sub breaker inadvertently, causing them to pick up unexpected load. Made OK recovery. Knew both of them. One is now dead and the other working out of the hall. He's a damn good hand.

#25.Lineman on pole touched bottom of open dip fuse thinking it was de-energized. Received burns. Made satisfactory recovery. REC contract hand. Don't know him but I am acquainted with his foreman.

#26. On storm break lineman was lifting wire with boom truck. It hung up and then flipped up hitting one man in mouth removing 6 teeth. The operator of the boom truck is long gone but the other guy is still there. A whale of a hand.

#27 Lineman made contact while attempting to build 2 pot bank on supposedly de-energized line. It wasn't and he was severely burned. He made recovery eventually and returned to work. Different area, I've met him but don't know him that well.

#28. Hanging guy from bucket with leather gloves lineman made primary contact and lost both arms. Didn't know him, but same entity. Just a different area.

#29. Hanging dead end of wire strung out on ground, with leather gloves lineman makes contact with energized phase and is killed.Same entity, different area.

#30. Another guy with a municipality does the guy hang with leather gloves and is killed when he makes contact with primary while holding onto ground. Heard of this one in a safety meeting.

#31. While hanging c/o arm underneath existing arm oil field electrician makes contact with one phase of 34.5 KV and loses both arms. Went out there on my day off and helped these electricians finish up hanging a 277/480 bank etc. They were spooked.

#32. While setting new pole with guy attached contact is made with primary and ground hand on pole is killed. REC contractor. Heard of it in safety meeting.

#33. While wearing leather gloves lineman reaches for connector tossed up from ground and simultanously touches case of Kyle with body and phase with hand. He is killed. Nearby REC. One of my fellow hands' father was the foreman who tossed up the connector to the man.

#34. While on storm break fatigued lineman climbs pole and makes contact with 7200 primary and is killed. Nearby power co. Didn't know this man.

#35. Troubleman climbs pole with one transformer of split bank and brushes primary backfeed. He receives no burns but the shock causes him to fall and break his back, paralyzing him from waist down. Worked with a friend of his.

#36. Lineman gets in series with open leads on 115 KV wave trap resulting in unconsciousness and blisters on his fingers. He makes full recovery. Same crew as me but my pole buddy and I were patroling a distance from there when this happened. Kinda funny if you knew him.

#37. While tying in new phase lineman inadvertently makes primary contact resulting in severe fire and his death. I knew him and had worked with him.

#38. Lineman climbs pole to unhang wire caught in stringing dolly. There is no traveling ground on new wire. This contract hand was killed while wearing leather gloves as new wire had contacted live primary. Didn't know him.

#39. A railroad lineman climbs a short telegraph/telephone pole and makes contact with a phase of baggy 7200 volt primary with his head. He was killed. Worked for the muni that owned the primary.

#40.A landowner is killed while repairing his barb wire fence when a phase of 7200 breaks and falls on the fence. The power co. troubleman finds the body. My old alma mater.

#41. On a storm break an app. touches a downed primary phase and receives significant burns on his hand and foot. He makes a full recovery after burn treatment in the hospt. Know him well.

#42. While boom of linetruck is in contact with primary phase a lineman touches the truck and receives a severe shock putting him in the hospital overnight. He made a full recovery. This was the guy that touched the water can to get a drink. I remember he was a Colo. native.

I still do not consider this dangerous work. It is mostly dangerous if you're not always cut in.

WOW. Do you sleep well at night mate. It would be interesting to know how many accidents and fatalities you guys have in the U.S compared to what we have in Australia. Obviously you would have higher number due to your huge population. Would be interesting

[PA BEN]

dbrown Quote; However on the jumper I do agree with some folks that prefer the air gap instead of tying it in on a pin and insulator. I was always taught that a belly jumper was best. Done it both ways though. Some people say a hand might climb up and stick his head into a belly jumper. If he's that dumb he'll probably do something else to get into trouble.


In another thread we talked about a jumper below the cross arms. Cross arm braces, #12 through #15. I also got my ass chewed for talking shit about the jumper under the arm. I guess lazy was too strong of a word. I should have said that a Lineman who has worked all night, had a bad day, his pole partner or safety watch was just not paying attention, or just plane had his head up his ass, could climb into it. The Lineman who taught me as an apprentice said it’s a bad practice to do that, because someone could climb or stick his head in it.
We also talked about building poles with the next guy in mind. We have Journeymen in this trade who take short cuts all the time, and have unsafe work habits. And they pass them onto there apprentices. Like no cover, no rubber gloves you name it, it’s been done. It’s like a cancer that spreads through the trade. Some learn, some are just an accident waiting to happen. It’s up to us to help these, as you say “dumb” linemen to see the light. But if I’m not there to help him now I might save his life by not putting the jumper under the arm, or providing climbing space, etc. Who knows what the next guy will be like?:rolleyes:

[dbrown20]

To my way of thinking it is hard to provide for all possibilities. As far as belly jumper it is just another thing that is a standard practice for some entities. To be aware of such a thing is just one more thing you have to think of, just like remembering that the line is hot etc.

I have never worked for one but I notice that belly jumpers seem to be standard with REC's. I'm sure all their hands keep that little awareness in their mind at all times.

I think I have seen a few hands on here that remarked about paralled systems. I worked on a property where such a method was a standard thing. It was just something you had to keep in mind at all times and you knew when you opened a transformer that you must check to make sure it was not backfeeding. Most of the accidents I mentioned in my previous post could have been prevented by just wearing your rubber gloves.

I don't know but I think some people are just not cut out for hot work. I think some of the safety rules that come out are made to protect such folks. I remember once about a hand that I knew that had transferred from a transmission crew and after he had been gone from transmission about a year some of the guys were laughing, because he had gotten in series with a line and the ground while removing grounds on a distribution line. I don't know how you protect against such absent minded people.

I remember once while working on a transmission maint. crew that the local crews had built a portion of 34.5 KV that ran parallel to a 230 KV line. THey did not ground the line and the local serviceman thought he would give them a hand tying it in. We heard them on the radio after he climbed up and touched the new wire. It had a severe induction energization on it and he was shocked so bad he fell from the arm all the way to the system neutral. Had his safety around the pole so he was not severely hurt but he had slight burns on his hands as he just had on leather gloves. How do you guard against such folks? You just make your safety rules more and more stringent, is the usual answer. THen you are saddled with cumbersome and sometimes un-necessary rules that many people tend to ignore when the boss is not around. dbrown20

[dbrown20]

Im not sure how you can figure that line work is not dangerous.
How many engineers do you know that have been killed or lost a limb while working in the electrical industry.
An old foreman told me when I was just a pup breaking in to the trade, electicity is something you dont want to be afraid of but you must have the ultimate respect of it. Its like messing with a time bomb forget what your doing or dont keep your head cut in you kill yourself or your pole partner!
Words I try to live by today

I know some that have sustained some pretty damn bad paper cuts. I knew one who had a couple of fingers burned off but come to think of it he was an ex-lineman. dbrown20

[PA BEN]

My comments are just from another school of thought.
“How do you guard against such folks?” Tailboard, when the new hand came on the job site to help the work should have stopped and a job briefing given to him. “The phase is not grounded”. And have him sign the tailboard sheet to cover your ass. It’s a safety rule. You are right people tend to look at some rules as un-necessary. But our rules are written in blood, a good reason to follow them. Also we need to watch out for each other.
Remember that’s hot, remember that’s not grounded, hey look out for that shell rot at the natural, do you want to cover that etc; and as a lineman I say “thank you”, because I know that my crew is looking out for me. No, room for mucho ego Bullshit, like “hey dumb ass I know”. Another way is Retraining. The safety rules require it, if an employee is not up to speed with the type of work asked to do. No, ego’s just looking out for each other. The list can go on and on. It all boils down to, is watching each others ass.;)

[dbrown20]

Those are probably some of the biggest problems in our trade that contribute to a significant amount of accidents.

I have seen men, who when warned about a potential hazard that reply. What do you think I am, a dumb apprentice? This causes the following.

"Did anyone warn Jim about the fact that the line isn't grounded?" "Hell no." He's the foreman. The last time I tried to tell him something, the SOB got smart with me. Let him look out for himself." I have seen several instances such as this and I think it is bad but I can't think of a way to remedy it. I worked on a crew like that once. All you can do is try and get away from them. Look out for number one.

If you ever get on a crew that is safe and consciencious and there's no other big issue like pay or conditions, then try and stay there if all is satisfactory.

In a perfect world all hands would get along, be happy and be safe. It is not always so. dbrown20

[PA BEN]

Those are probably some of the biggest problems in our trade that contribute to a significant amount of accidents.

I have seen men, who when warned about a potential hazard that reply. What do you think I am, a dumb apprentice? This causes the following.

"Did anyone warn Jim about the fact that the line isn't grounded?" "Hell no." He's the foreman. The last time I tried to tell him something, the SOB got smart with me. Let him look out for himself." I have seen several instances such as this and I think it is bad but I can't think of a way to remedy it. I worked on a crew like that once. All you can do is try and get away from them. Look out for number one.

If you ever get on a crew that is safe and consciencious and there's no other big issue like pay or conditions, then try and stay there if all is satisfactory.

In a perfect world all hands would get along, be happy and be safe. It is not always so. dbrown20

Do what you can do and watch out for #1. Good advice. Warn him anyway that way if he does get killed it's not because you didn't warn him.:eek:

[dbrown20]

I'm sure the statistics are there if someone would go to the trouble to find them. However if you don't adjust them to reflect per captia then they don't mean very much. There are several factors that come into play on things such as this. Per captia, number of hours worked and maybe number of hours worked on hot circuits vs de-energized work. It becomes quite a little project for the math people. Americans love statistics though. Ever time you pick up a magazine or newspaper there is always something. Sorta funny if you think of it. They conjure up all sorts of stuff. Percentage of virgins by age 16. Percentage of divorces. Percentage of people over age 50. Percentage of people making over X amount of annual income. Percentage of certain races. Percentage of college grads. Percentage of HS grads. Percentage of HS drop outs. Percentage of minorities in management. Percentage of certain professions. Really quite mind numbing. dbrown20

[dbrown20]

#43. We were attempting to change some wind damaged arms on some 230 KV once. They were badly broken and the line was de-energized and grounded. Another lineman and I went up in a bucket to unding everything etc. The other lineman attached a handline to the end of the double arms and had the foreman pull slack with a pickup from the ground. When he reached over to unding the bells the arm broke and the 954 MCM wire fell and caught him in the crook of the elbow severely pulling the ligaments in his arm. He went to the ER and wore his arm in a sling about 6 wks. The next day, the foreman, myself, a local serviceman and a groundman changed out the arms. This was near Riverton, Patriot.

#44. In a nearby town they exposed some single phase URD in order, I suppose, to install a switch cabinet. Bill went to the vault and pulled off the elbow to de-energize the wire but then mistakenly shoved it back on another energized bushing. Tom stepped in the ditch and cut the wire with some insulated cutters or wore his rubbers, I don't remember. Anyway when it was cut the blaze burned the cuffs off Tom's pants. Bill was upset and threatened to quit but was talked out of it. You might have heard of this one Patriot.

#45. A lineman touched an elbow on a deadfront pd mt with only his leather gloves. It was improperly installed not having the bonding piece of concentric touching the elbow and also had semi-con stripped back too far below the bottom of the elbow. He was shocked so severely that he was rendered unconscious and the foreman did CPR and revived him. This foreman is long retired and the lineman wound up going to Seattle City Light. You might also have heard of this one Patriot.

#46. Running a crew once for a Muni. We were cruising down the street and were near a location that was called in for a single phasing condition. Since we were near we decided to swing by and watch the fun. This was a 3 phase URD dip and when we approached an underground crew was getting ready to try a blown fuse. About an 85 K I think. Anyway as we drove in sight of it it was clear that these clowns were allowing a kid to put the fuse in that had been on the job about a month. They were heckling him and laughing etc. When he attempted to close with the extendo stick the rest began to run. He didn't make a good close and started an arc that got over into an ajacent phase and of course blew 2 fuses. I drove up and began to give some fatherly advise to the foreman on this crew. He more or less told me to FO. I said fine, and we left. About 10 minutes later we heard them calling for an ambulance. I told my guys, hell I'm not even going over there. They had found a bad elbow eventually in some switch cabinet and had allowed a kid to attempt to change it out only wearing leather gloves. They didn't even have enough brains to switch it out. It had enough backfeed on it that when the kid made contact it curled him up like a grub worm. Luckily he was alright, but they had a bad scare. Stupid.

#47. At this same Muni. they had a bad elbow in a 3 phase transformer. The 2 guys there had opened all three phases at the dip. The lead hand was installing a new elbow. He instructed the other hand to go and lift out the blown dip fuse and replace it and rehang it and then they would close ever thing in when he had finished. Bad idea. As the kid lifted the blown barrel the drooping tail swished up into the top of the C/O. This caused enough contact that it gave the guy at the pot a bad burn on his ring finger where he wore a gold wedding band. He was alright but did suffer some burn damage to his finger. Remember the kid who got curled up like a grub worm in the previous? Same guy. He was after that so spooked of electrical work that he gave it up and became, guess what? A fireman. True story.

#48. I grunted for 2 guys in 2000 at the lineman rodeo in K C,Kansas. Anyway we had a preliminary rodeo prior to that in Texas which was the former CSW (Central Southwest) Anyway right next to us a hand from Central Power and Light, I believe was doing the part of installing EPG grounds which was a part of the contest. He wore a belt without a gut strap or suspenders. When he was leaning out with a shotgun putting on the grounds his belt slipped to his ankles. This resulted in a fall that broke several ribs and punctured a lung. The embarassment was probably as bad as the pain. They had an ambulance in attendance and it haul him away.

Well maybe it is a little bit dangerous. dbrown20

[boyakasha]

I'm sure the statistics are there if someone would go to the trouble to find them. However if you don't adjust them to reflect per captia then they don't mean very much. There are several factors that come into play on things such as this. Per captia, number of hours worked and maybe number of hours worked on hot circuits vs de-energized work. It becomes quite a little project for the math people. Americans love statistics though. Ever time you pick up a magazine or newspaper there is always something. Sorta funny if you think of it. They conjure up all sorts of stuff. Percentage of virgins by age 16. Percentage of divorces. Percentage of people over age 50. Percentage of people making over X amount of annual income. Percentage of certain races. Percentage of college grads. Percentage of HS grads. Percentage of HS drop outs. Percentage of minorities in management. Percentage of certain professions. Really quite mind numbing. dbrown20

I think i have opened a can of worms on this subject dbrown20....

Could you imagine the categories:1. Was there a hot looking blonde with big hooters in the area at the time of the accident, 2. was she wearing a bra, 3. Was she wearing a G-string(thong).
The list goes on, Thanks for your reply dbrown20. Like you said "you Americans love statistics" who is up for the challenge.

P.s Do you sleep at night

[dbrown20]

If I can conjure up almost 50 accidents over 36 years that I have first hand knowledge of, I expect someone else to do about the same. Start writing losers. I'll bet Tracy,Tracey can come up with 3 or 4 and probably Hemingray can come up with 3 or 4. dbrown20

[LostArt]

If I can conjure up almost 50 accidents over 36 years that I have first hand knowledge of, I expect someone else to do about the same. Start writing losers. I'll bet Tracy,Tracey can come up with 3 or 4 and probably Hemingray can come up with 3 or 4. dbrown20

You rascal! Hemingray will do much better than I, I am sure of this!

However, you have already mentioned about the same kind of accidents that sound familar to me Danny. But, since I don't know the techniques or lineman jargon, how am I suppose to know the details? Unless you want me to cheat and ask the Boss. :D

But here goes in simple terms in relation to my experience:

#1 Flashburns. Two men in a bucket and one touched something he wasn't suppose to....I'd think.

#2 Trailer full of poles and were unloading and a foreman didn't quite move fast enough and the poles rolled over on him. Knee surgery, few steel pins, hurts still off and on, but he is still working.


I could mention a few more Danny, and maybe go into more detail (with the Boss's help) however, I'm sure you have mentioned most of any type of accident that could happen. Danny, you have almost 50 dag gum senarios buddy! And it might just be me, but maybe some just hasn't been around as long as you. Well, yeah....age, but what I mean is around more kinds of linework situations. I don't know.

When did you start this thread? I don't always read these buddy! :D And if I do, I rarely respond anymore. Heck, I think it's better that I stay out of ya'lls workin' business. Lord knows I don't want to offend a lineman. And I seem to do that more often on this lineman site (internet) more than I do in real life instances. I've yet to meet a lineman in real life that didn't mind my questions or didn't like me! And HERE..............well, I rest my case! :D But, it is interesting how the internet can rile some folks up.

But, in regards to this thread and my opinion (which ain't worth a darn in this case---I'm sure), I think it is a great idea to share. Especially with the young linemen that are getting started. And thanks for making me read ALL of this thread Danny. :D I needed the exercise. Heh.

Now, the Boss is making big long sighs and getting disgusted with me because he is ready to hit the river this weekend. You guys be safe and enjoy the holiday and remember those serving our country!

---Tracy aka LA

[dbrown20]

Just ask your husband to contribute when ever your are unsure. Very simple. Accidents should always be reported and discussed fully. I get irritated sometimes because I have been told by management that sometimes they don't want to discuss them because of litigation. Baloney. That tells me that they are more concerned about saving the co. some money than somebodies life. What hypocrites. dbrown20

[warpig]

dbrown, Where is it you have worked? That's a sobering list of screw ups.

[dbrown20]

think it's anymore than most people. I just don't think most people are as forthcoming. This was a period from Jan. 1971 until Feb. 2007.

Check your PM's.

[Koga]

afternoon ,hot as hell , working long hours short handed since the company was bought out and all the layoffs. Call came we had the whole URD subdivision out. This is a large subdidvision that is feed through a big S&C switching cabnet directly from the substation 1/4 mile down the road. Nothing on the circuit but this subdivision.I went to the switching cabnet and opened acorrding to my switching orders with all my PP&E on then went to various locations through out the subdivision swithching in transformers following the operators orders after an hour to an hour and a half of fighting all the usuall URD crap(dogs,fences,storage sheds,things piled up around and on top of them,and folks just plain trying to hide em under and behind things) finally went back to the swithching unit to close it all in. This particular unit was walled in with bricks 6 feet high and chain link fence about 4 ft from the front of the unit with just enough room to open the doors of the cabnet.Once the doors were open I had a 6' wide by 4' deep to switch in.And no place to run.I had my FR shirt and eye protection on and had gotten my rubber gloves out and layed them on top of the bin, I got my last part of the switching orders from the operator grabbed my stick and walked off to close in the disc.These are the big long S&C all metal long heavey disc you set in the bottom hangers and close I realize I had left my gloves on the bin of the truck, I still had on my FR shirt, hard hat, and eye protection and this wont take but a second.(Famous last words)."I've done it a million times" I opened the doors got the disc in the stick and went to hang it. I had to put the stick through the fence and it got tangled up in it and I never could get the right angle. The metal disc slipped and went to ground inside the cabnet.I got the full force of the substation breakers for what seemed like a full minute in slow motion. After the fire stopped I backed up and realized my shirt under my FR shirt was on fire (my FR shirt was not buttoned up). I went to put the fire out with my hands and realized then I didn't have any finger nails and my skin was hanging like melted plastic shreds off my hands.They man that was with me did get me back to the truck and sat me down and put a burn gel blanket on me and called for EMS. 3 days in intensive care and 3 weeks in the burn unit complete with skin graft, then months of therapy and a year wearin the gloves. So ask me if I wear all my shit now and if I care how long it takes.

Koga

[Mike-E]

We did a pole change out last year and the foreman decided rubber hoses weren't necessarry because "the hot arms had the conductors out far enough". The new pole was in the hole and the foreman was operating with another ape on the plumb-bob giving hand signals to get it plumb. I was getting my harness on and one more ape was standing next to the digger truck taking off his PPE from the set. The foreman extended the second stage of the boom right into the road phase. The foreman was also operating while standing on the ground because the truck was the kind with the platform on the back that is accessible from the ground. When the ungrounded truck caught on fire and was drawing an arc from the 7200 V line the foreman ran back and left the boom up in the phase. The ape standing next to the truck got shocked from the ground gradiant but was fine after being checked out. The tires on the truck burnt up before the phase was removed. That foreman didn't work for the company too much longer.

[dbrown20]

accidents that I posted I looked back over them and I was actually on the property with 26 of them. For those who like statistics that is one about ever 16.5 months. I don't see any way my experience could have been unique. I would hope that everyone who has worked in the time frame of about Jan. 1971 until Jan. 2007 would list all the accidents that they were aware of while they worked on a particular property. If not then I would suspect your companies did not report accidents as required.

If not then I would next ask that OSHA begin investigating why this type of work causes Alzheimers disease.

Damn I just remembered 2 more. Brian would you recalculate my accident stats? That's Hemmi boy.

#49. We had a bad ice storm. A 3 person crew was attempting to clear up and replace a broken pole. I don't remember the details about the breaker precisely. Lineman Alzheimers you know. Anyway the foreman had placed the pole claws around the pole up high to hold it while the 2 people in the bucket untied and got it ready to replace etc. The breaker was open, and here is where the Lineman Alzheimer sets in. It was a type of breaker that would open after being de-energized for awhile and upon re-energization would return to the setting it was originally. Bear with the Alzheimers awhile now. Now the serviceman had verified to the foreman that the breaker was indeed open and also the 69 KV source to the sub was dead along with the 13.2 KV breaker. The stupidity (of quite a few other errors) was that the solid blade disconnects to the breaker were not open. Eventually the 69 KV sub source came hot and this energized the 13.2 KV. When this happened, and because the phases were laying on the boom of the digger it went to ground through the digger. The foreman (a Mensa scholar) dismounted the digger. Didn't get electrocuted. He took the fire extinguisher and put out the tire fires on the digger. One of the hands in the bucket came down and began to scream about what was happening on the radio. An alert serviceman immediately called the dispatcher and had them dump the 69, which killed the sub and killed the 13.2 KV. No one was hurt and only about $2000 worth of tires were burned off the digger. Lucky eh?

#50. We had a bad ice storm. 2 men, foreman and a journeyman were up in a bucket taking jumpers apart on a 138 KV line. It was H fixtures. These were jumpers that were bolted together with fargos and so instead of cutting them they were taking them apart by hand. About this time about 40 miles of H fixtured 138 dominoed and when it fell where these chaps were at the phases of course fell on the boom of the bucket. These 2 men did not have their harnesses on and so one managed to stay in the bucket and the other was thrown about 30 feet to the ground and suffered a severe concussion. He was eventually put out on a medical by the co. I forgot to mention that the reason they were taking the jumpers apart was because hopefully the line could be energized from the other direction. It was all for naught as the other end went to hell shortly.

[markwho]

DB, sorry of your misfortune to be witness to so many accidents in our trade. It was interesting to read through them. I have been employed at the same utility for 29 yrs. We have had only one major accident since my employment there involving an app. They were doing some pole top mounted switch maint. and he somehow made contact from his hip to his forearm. They were using aerosol contact cleaner on the energized switch. Not sure what went wrong but it somehow flashed and he was actually burnt under his rubber glove and sleeve. this happend almost 3 yrs ago. He is still off and recouperating after multiple surgeries. We found out later that the actual chemical being applied is inflammable however the propellant used in the can is. Needless to say this practice has stopped. I had personally done this procedure in the past with no problem, however it always occured to me that i was holding an energized can when spraying and made sure i maintained a good distance from any contact point.

Mark

[dbrown20]

#51. This was in Casper, Patriot. The crew was wrecking out a slack span to a 3 pot bank. The lineman climbed the pole and removed the leads that were hot clamped onto the primary. After he pulled the leads off with a shotgun stick he then cut the preforms with his kleins where they were snubbed over insulators. After this he grabbed the wire and jerked it off the insulators and flung it to the ground. When he did he flipped the leads up into the energized primary he was slightly burned on the hands. He spent the night in the hospt. but was alright. I don't remember the foreman but I remember the hand and I knew his dad. I actually went and notified his dad as he was a supt. for Tyee and had a const. trailer set up in Douglas.

#52. This same hand transferred to Astoria, Oregon. His crew was extending some single phase primary from a pad mount where it then ended. At this time this co. PP&L, just had a rubber plug that they put into the H1 B bushing on the end of a radial. The foreman on this crew evidently didn't understand how pad mts worked as he pulled the bayonet fuse and then took a skinning knife and began to dig the rubber plug out from the H1 B bushing. He eventually made contact but was not seriously hurt. I'll bet that lineman thought he was snake bit where accidents were concerned, although it was not he who made contact this time.

I counted them up and I believe there were 7 fatalities in this period from 71 till 07. These were just the ones where I was on the property of the entity. There were others where they happened just before I arrived or just after I left.

[dbrown20]

I find it difficult to believe that you guys have only had one accident in 29 years. What is the size of your utility and what are their methods of working distribution voltages? G&T outfits have quite a few less accidents as they don't mess with distribution voltages at close proximity. How many employees do you guys have?

[Pootnaigle]

1. 2 lineman were sent to a nearby community where the regular hands quit. The job was to energize a 13kv to 4 kv step down bank and phase it in with some existing 4 kv. When the bank was closed it exploded , blew the lids off one transformer and made one hell of a fire .One lineman jumped off the pole while the other was safteyed off between the rack and had to hang there until the nylon strap between his d-rings melted and fell to the ground which was on fire. Both men crawled out of the fire.The jumper died but the worst burnt of the 2 survived however he was never the same. An investigation revealed that the Transformer manafactuer had labor problems and someone intensionally sabotaged the insulation on the primary windings.( Allis- Chambers) this happened in the early to mid 70's.
2. An apprentice about to gain journeyman status was covering 7.6 Kv single phaze pri. off the pole. He climbed above the primary and was installing a gut when he cut out and fell into it. Killed instantly.
#3 a crew picked up a downed primary on the ground and 2 linemen were pulling it out to " slingshot" it up to a 3rd man on the pole. As they puled it out Barehanded a Serviceman from a neighboring district saw the open fuse and refused it killing both groundmen. This happened right on the border of 2 districts,Neither group knew the other would be involved, didnt ground anything and didnt patrol the tap before refusing it.
#4 Lineforeman walked into a downed conductor that was overgrown by grass bein fed by an Oil reclosure. Reclosure hadnt tripped and he was Killed.
#5 Lineman removed Ground lead on a set of ground chains first on a grounded hi line. Then dropped it from the shotgun hitting another lineman who got the full brunt of the induced elect. Killed him.
#6 Lineman workin out of a crappy bucket with a hole in the liner sat the bucket down on 34.5 and tried to remove stapel and ground wire from pole. Needless to say the liner failed and he was fried.

[Pootnaigle]

1. 2 lineman were sent to a nearby community where the regular hands quit. The job was to energize a 13kv to 4 kv step down bank and phase it in with some existing 4 kv. When the bank was closed it exploded , blew the lids off one transformer and made one hell of a fire .One lineman jumped off the pole while the other was safteyed off between the rack and had to hang there until the nylon strap between his d-rings melted and fell to the ground which was on fire. Both men crawled out of the fire.The jumper died but the worst burnt of the 2 survived however he was never the same. An investigation revealed that the Transformer manafactuer had labor problems and someone intensionally sabotaged the insulation on the primary windings.( Allis- Chambers) this happened in the early to mid 70's.
2. An apprentice about to gain journeyman status was covering 7.6 Kv single phaze pri. off the pole. He climbed above the primary and was installing a gut when he cut out and fell into it. Killed instantly.
#3 a crew picked up a downed primary on the ground and 2 linemen were pulling it out to " slingshot" it up to a 3rd man on the pole. As they puled it out Barehanded a Serviceman from a neighboring district saw the open fuse and refused it killing both groundmen. This happened right on the border of 2 districts,Neither group knew the other would be involved, didnt ground anything and didnt patrol the tap before refusing it.
#4 Lineforeman walked into a downed conductor that was overgrown by grass bein fed by an Oil reclosure. Reclosure hadnt tripped and he was Killed.
#5 Lineman removed Ground lead on a set of ground chains first on a grounded hi line. Then dropped it from the shotgun hitting another lineman who got the full brunt of the induced elect. Killed him.
#6 Lineman workin out of a crappy bucket with a hole in the liner sat the bucket down on 34.5 and tried to remove staple and ground wire from pole. Needless to say the liner failed and he was fried.

[dbrown20]

Okay, there are 7 fatalities. I don't know the time frame, but I bet about the same as mine. There must have been other serious accidents Pootnaigle, during your time with the power co. Linemans Altzheimer again.

[LostArt]

.....that some haven't seen or heard many accidents in their time of work? Maybe it's the size of town/city or location? Or maybe they haven't done the amount of linework possiblities as you have?

I'll tell you who I'd like to see post here and that is Trampbag. I'd be mighty interested if he has seen a few.

[dbrown20]

My experience has not been singular or unique. They just have Linemans Alzheimers.

[Pootnaigle]

Ok maybe i just hit the hi spots but if we listed " near misses" I couldnt stay awake long enought to get em all in here at one sitting LOL.Strange but it always struck me that the " routine stuff " hurt far more than the obviously dangerous pole changeouts or" Hairy stuff" ever did.

[Koga]

Accidents you had direct knowledge of or close ,as I understood it. Like with in your work group or Co. After reading DBs' I am real thankful I haven't had those experiences. The worst on at my work location that has happened since I came in 1979 is a helper in a open hole with 3 phase urd. The senior lineman went to do some switching down the street and this helper lost an arm up to the elbow. Yes it was a bad scene. Im glad I wasnt there at the time.Believe me when I tell you it was investigated as completely as it gets.The foreman on the job at that time never was the same after that. He lost his foremans job and shortly took a medical retirement. And died not to long after that. I think it continuously ate at him till he passed away.The man who lost his arm has gone on to other things and last I heard was doing quite well. But thank God we have never had a fatality at our office since Ive been here. Yes we have had all the near misses, flashes, a bucket fall, bumps bruises and scrapes. One or two cuttin out and fallin off the pole. Even a hot board collapse during one of the apprentice schools.And they were all taken quite serious and investigated from just about every angle they could be.And the info was passed on to all the other work groups , dicussed in detail over and over .Maybe , just maybe, thats the reason Ive missed 7 funerals in my work carreer. And I will do my best to keep it that way.

Koga

[LINETRASH]

This forum has reached its limit.

I was trying to post a reply on this thread, only to "Time out".

I was asked to re-log in to post my reply.

Guess what, My lenghty reply to the post was lost in the process.

I really felt I had somthing to say, but my heartfelt reply was lost because of the short term memory of this forum.

Byron, or whoever runs this site, be advised: There are far easier user friendly formats out there, that dont limit post time or photo size.

I will miss the good people who post here, but I am tired of the limits and inflexibility of this set up.

I will continue to visit from time to time, but remain sad at the poor state of technoligy here.

[LostArt]

This forum has reached its limit.

I was trying to post a reply on this thread, only to "Time out".

I was asked to re-log in to post my reply.

Guess what, My lenghty reply to the post was lost in the process.

I really felt I had somthing to say, but my heartfelt reply was lost because of the short term memory of this forum.

Byron, or whoever runs this site, be advised: There are far easier user friendly formats out there, that dont limit post time or photo size.

I will miss the good people who post here, but I am tired of the limits and inflexibility of this set up.

I will continue to visit from time to time, but remain sad at the poor state of technoligy here.

LT, I think you have to make sure when you sign on that you hit the "please remember me" option. What this does is makes sure that you are always signed on (or when you come to the site you are automatically signed on). The "time out" process is because you are NOT tied down to a "log in" option.

Now, it might mean that you don't want to be logged in and want to "sign in" at your own whim. If so, type your whole post in microsoft word and then drop it in here.

Hope this clears this up for you LT. It's not something Byron can do, it's something you need to choose. :)

Don't go givin' up on us LT!!!! Listen, if anyone can get aggrivated with technology, it's ME!!!! :D I've only learned by my mistakes. Trail and error. And at times, I still forget! I guess I have "regular" Alzheimers. :D

[BigClive]

This forum has reached its limit.

I was trying to post a reply on this thread, only to "Time out".

I was asked to re-log in to post my reply.

Guess what, My lenghty reply to the post was lost in the process.



That does very occasionally happen. Sometimes if you go back a page you find your unsubmitted post is still there.

Or maybe it's a rant filter. ;)

Either way, Byron is doing a fine job making this site available for communication, and that's not to be sniffed at.

[Hemingray Insulators]

If I can conjure up almost 50 accidents over 36 years that I have first hand knowledge of, I expect someone else to do about the same. Start writing losers. I'll bet Tracy,Tracey can come up with 3 or 4 and probably Hemingray can come up with 3 or 4. dbrown20

1.Last summer there was an accident at a co-op near here, an apprentice was trenching some underground through a field when he hit a large diameter high pressure gas line, that exploded, it didn't explode into flames, but the pressure was arround 800psi i think and left a big crater. killed the man.

2.sometime bout a year ago there was an accident in a Consumers Energy substation, but i don't know any of the details other than the man made contact. he lived but has a long road to recovery.

3. also, little more than a year ago one of my buddies crossphased something and locked out the sub. he was fine, close call.

[LINETRASH]

That does very occasionally happen. Sometimes if you go back a page you find your unsubmitted post is still there.

Or maybe it's a rant filter. ;)

Either way, Byron is doing a fine job making this site available for communication, and that's not to be sniffed at.

A rant filter. Costing only my time, 300 bucks a day.

Forgetting to check "remember me", still over 300 bucks a day.

Finding a wanker willing to grovel at the feet of the web man , Priceless.

Just kidding, Clive, I respect you and shit.

I will thank lost art for her quick un-negative reation to my rant. I love that southern chick!

I have been out of town on joyous vacation the last couple weeks.

Went down to Mexico, the coast, never saw Pancho , but say a prayer for Lefty too, he only did what he had to do...

Now he's growing old....

All the Federales say they could have had him any day, they only
let him stay out of kindness I suppose.

Willie Nelson kicks much ass!

[Alan Mac]

Certainly does man.

Mac

[reppy007]

The following are accidents I have known and have direct knowledge. I know of quite a few more but don't remember sufficient detail to make a good discription of them.

#1. On a routine night time change out of a bad transformer a lineman climbed the pole and made contact with the top of the cutout and was killed. I was told later that they gathered him up from a bar where he had been drinking.

#2.Boom fell on bucket truck killing contractor hand. I knew him and remember he was from Indiana.

#3. Pole was pulled and was top heavy. App. clung to butt and turned loose too late and broke his wrist when he hit the ground. I worked some with this app. He was a funny kid. I remember he said. "Confucius say woman who fly unside down have nasty crack up"..

#4. Backfeed through a 2400 volt transformer kills lineman on pole. I was there.

#5. Contractor App. reached from pole and grasped 477 ACSR energized at 7200. He lost hand and foot. They said he was making a good hand. I remember the old supt. showed us his leather Kuntz gloves and his Westcoast boots with holes burned in them.

#6. Lineman on pole was "beating" or "bumping" new wire in order to even up the sag with an existing energized phase. He got up too high with his rubbers and made contact. He lost one hand. He wore a hook. I was acquainted with him. He used that hook for opening oil cans and beer. Before pop tops.

#7. App. touched the ungrounded case of a single bushing pot on a trouble call. He was wearing leather gloves and received burns to both hands and fell to the ground fracturing a vertebrae in his back. He was off work for quite awhile but made a full recovery. Good friend of mine.

#8. A lineman made contact with 115 KV while changing out a switch and was killed. Worked on a crew with him once.

#9. Lineman climbed pole on 4 KV, and while waiting on the other hand, decided to tighten the 3/8 brace bolt wearing leather gloves. He brushed a phase and lost 2 fingers. I think it was on his right hand. I knew him also.

#10. Truckdriver put boom into phase and not realizing it stepped down from the corner mt. platform to the ground. He was killed. Same co. but different area.

#11.Lineman went up alone in new bucket while on trouble call. He made contact with a cutout and was killed. Same co. different area. He was in a one man area and when the crew came out to help him he wanted to try out that bucket.

#12. While hot sticking with another lineman from the pole to change out an underarm disconnect a lineman reached out with his leather gloves to hang the handline on the DA bolts at the end of the arm. A dead end bell was tracking over and he lost a foot and a hand. Supt. made a ****ty remark about this guy. Said, "He was a typical Southern Calif. bucket lineman."

#13. Climbing a bare pole a lineman flippled his safety over the top of the pole and fell to the ground killing him. This was an REC hand nearby where I worked.

#14. On a very windy day a lineman was climbing one pole in an H fixture of a 115 KV line. He fell and was killed. This happened on the South Platte Project of the USBR. I worked with his friend.

#15. Three lineman were working on the top of a 115 KV transformer in a substation. It was accidently energized. One was killed, one was paralyzed from the waist down and the other received a burn on one heel. The one with the heel burn was my foreman for awhile. Good hand.

#16. A lineman placed a megger on a supposed de-energized pd mt. It was live and he received a pretty good flash burn. Made full recovery. Worked with him some but was gone when this happened.

#17. Lineman was on pole terminating URD primary. He made contact with the OH primary and was severely burned. He made a full recovery but is severely scarred. Saw him the other day. Still doing fine.

#18. Two lineman and a non-working supervisor were severely flash burned when a 600 volt rotation meter is placed on the 2400 volt secondary of a pd mt. All made full recovery but still have visible scarring. The 2 linemen eventually drug up but the other guy is still working there.

#19. Serviceman killed on storm recovery when contact is made with downed phase. I knew him but not all that good.

#20. Lineman killed while working on feeder exit cable on side of control house. Got on wrong cable. Didn't know him although we worked for same co. Different area.

#21. App. severely flashed on 138 KV. Ended his career. Didn't know him, but I saw him once in a restaurant. Didn't look good.


#22. Outrigger placed on linemans big toe. Severe crushing injury. Made it back to work after recovery. Worked some with this guy.

#23. Outrigger placed on lineman's foot. Fractured foot. Made full recovery. Had a class with him once and worked around him some.

#24. Two linemen closing in S.B. disconnects from bucket were flash burned slightly as dispatcher had closed sub breaker inadvertently, causing them to pick up unexpected load. Made OK recovery. Knew both of them. One is now dead and the other working out of the hall. He's a **** good hand.

#25.Lineman on pole touched bottom of open dip fuse thinking it was de-energized. Received burns. Made satisfactory recovery. REC contract hand. Don't know him but I am acquainted with his foreman.

#26. On storm break lineman was lifting wire with boom truck. It hung up and then flipped up hitting one man in mouth removing 6 teeth. The operator of the boom truck is long gone but the other guy is still there. A whale of a hand.

#27 Lineman made contact while attempting to build 2 pot bank on supposedly de-energized line. It wasn't and he was severely burned. He made recovery eventually and returned to work. Different area, I've met him but don't know him that well.

#28. Hanging guy from bucket with leather gloves lineman made primary contact and lost both arms. Didn't know him, but same entity. Just a different area.

#29. Hanging dead end of wire strung out on ground, with leather gloves lineman makes contact with energized phase and is killed.Same entity, different area.

#30. Another guy with a municipality does the guy hang with leather gloves and is killed when he makes contact with primary while holding onto ground. Heard of this one in a safety meeting.

#31. While hanging c/o arm underneath existing arm oil field electrician makes contact with one phase of 34.5 KV and loses both arms. Went out there on my day off and helped these electricians finish up hanging a 277/480 bank etc. They were spooked.

#32. While setting new pole with guy attached contact is made with primary and ground hand on pole is killed. REC contractor. Heard of it in safety meeting.

#33. While wearing leather gloves lineman reaches for connector tossed up from ground and simultanously touches case of Kyle with body and phase with hand. He is killed. Nearby REC. One of my fellow hands' father was the foreman who tossed up the connector to the man.

#34. While on storm break fatigued lineman climbs pole and makes contact with 7200 primary and is killed. Nearby power co. Didn't know this man.

#35. Troubleman climbs pole with one transformer of split bank and brushes primary backfeed. He receives no burns but the shock causes him to fall and break his back, paralyzing him from waist down. Worked with a friend of his.

#36. Lineman gets in series with open leads on 115 KV wave trap resulting in unconsciousness and blisters on his fingers. He makes full recovery. Same crew as me but my pole buddy and I were patroling a distance from there when this happened. Kinda funny if you knew him.

#37. While tying in new phase lineman inadvertently makes primary contact resulting in severe fire and his death. I knew him and had worked with him.

#38. Lineman climbs pole to unhang wire caught in stringing dolly. There is no traveling ground on new wire. This contract hand was killed while wearing leather gloves as new wire had contacted live primary. Didn't know him.

#39. A railroad lineman climbs a short telegraph/telephone pole and makes contact with a phase of baggy 7200 volt primary with his head. He was killed. Worked for the muni that owned the primary.

#40.A landowner is killed while repairing his barb wire fence when a phase of 7200 breaks and falls on the fence. The power co. troubleman finds the body. My old alma mater.

#41. On a storm break an app. touches a downed primary phase and receives significant burns on his hand and foot. He makes a full recovery after burn treatment in the hospt. Know him well.

#42. While boom of linetruck is in contact with primary phase a lineman touches the truck and receives a severe shock putting him in the hospital overnight. He made a full recovery. This was the guy that touched the water can to get a drink. I remember he was a Colo. native.

I still do not consider this dangerous work. It is mostly dangerous if you're not always cut in.

I dont know what you all think about this guy,but I am glad that I dont know half of the people that he knows....he must be the only person alive by now....I didnt read everything,but something tells me that Pike might be involved.

[TimBukTu]

I dont know what you all think about this guy,but I am glad that I dont know half of the people that he knows....he must be the only person alive by now....I didnt read everything,but something tells me that Pike might be involved.

So you are the new MasterBaiter, eh?

[reppy007]

So you are the new MasterBaiter, eh?

No,but if you ever have something to say about linework,please find the guts and tell us some stories,thats if in fact ....you are a lineman....but I DOUBT that....stop hiding and join us:D

[rob8210]

I'm sure everybody in this trade knows someone that has been hurt and killed in the line of duty. This fella seems to know more than his fair share. There is a growing attitude that you cannot give the newer young fellas s*** for doing something wrong or dangerous like we used to get in the old days. I was just stepped back from foreman and that was the reason stated. I'm sorry to be so old fashioned but that young fella is going to remember me giving him s*** a lot longer, and just maybe some day it'll save his life!!

[Orgnizdlbr]

I dont know what you all think about this guy,but I am glad that I dont know half of the people that he knows....he must be the only person alive by now....I didnt read everything,but something tells me that Pike might be involved.

Dbrown posted at the original site, he was a good contributer with a lot of hands on know how.
I, for one miss his posts and hope he is doing well. His posts were always relevant rather than some of bs I see started as threads here.

I've been in this business since 1972 & have seen my share of bad ones. I would hope no one would make a comment about me cuz I've seen bad **** happen to good people.

[reppy007]

Theres no doubt that he has seen alot,and its actually a good post.I hope people will read about what he has seen and heard,it might wake some folks up and understand that these accidents can happen to anyone on a given day.I also have wondered what happened to him,although I dont know him.

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmmmmmm good to see you back Danny how bout makin it a reglar thang umm n maybe evenregester so we can PM ya. we have missed the benefits of your experiences lately.

[Lineman North Florida]

Ummmmmmmmm good to see you back Danny how bout makin it a reglar thang umm n maybe evenregester so we can PM ya. we have missed the benefits of your experiences lately. Maybe I missed something, but it looks like a 5 year old post according to the date.

[Pootnaigle]

umm no it wuz me that didnt look at the date Danny left us sometime bak prolly due to all the childish crap that was goin on n I wuz ticklred to see him back also saw a reply in there somwhere from PA BEN we have missed him as well and the pictures of his excursions in the wild
ddo fellas if yer reading thid we have evolved into a much more friendly site and welcome the both of you back