Author -
Submitted By -STORM BREAKS
We have all worked them,at home around our home state,or far away.I have always considered that everyone at my co-op worked safe,and they do to a certain extent.But what about when you don't know line feeds. Sure,at a storm break your spotter will tell or hopefully show you the recloser or cutout by which the line you are working on is fed from.But if you are not familiar with the circuit when he leaves and you are in the middle of the woods its easy to get turned around. That is why I am stressing the importance of grounds within sight. Last week we had a contractor get burned on a A-5/A-5-1.He had gotten turned around in the woods they were working in and had been picking up wire all day on this tap so there was no doubt that the line was dead.The crew had split up earlier in the day and the other group was really using grounds even though every time they did go to the "major task" of putting on 2 ground jumpers.The guy that got burnt was not. The hot jumper was burnt in the clear, He stepped up the pole,safetied off above the neutral reached out to put his grip on the incoming tap that was being held up by another hot-line clamp and he made contact while holding on to the load side of the pole top pin with his right hand. He was flipped upside down and hung there 20 minutes before someone could step up and get him down.Fellas,He never lost consciousness the whole time.He had to be taken out of the woods by 4-wheeler.My friend who was their spotter that day held on to him on the bike the whole way out and said that when they got him in the ambulance that he had the lineman's burnt skin all over his pants. This is something that my friend will never get over.Even though he did his part by showing the line feeds, it is up to the man on the pole to DO IT RIGHT. The doctors say he is going to make it ,but they have already taken off his left hand. They are debating about his right hand and right knee which was touching the system neutral.But only time will tell. Pray for him guys and also for the men that witnessed this,they are handling it better than I think I would.