Author -

Green Space Shuttle

Hello am a lineman from Seattle like too share a story I Call the green space shuttle. It is about a underground job I was on the month of Nov.of 1999 here in City of Seattle.We were on the project that was was given to us on a Thursday And was suppose too be done yesterday a Big rush job,if you know what I mean,We check this job out and we had a service upgrade to do,The foreman talked to the electrical contractor on site and set the job up for the weekend Saturday and Sunday 12hr. each day. The job involved taken out a 750kva 3phase padmount transformer and replacing it with a 1200kva 277/480v transformer their were two 3 man underground Me my partner and the apprentice. We had the 750kva transformer feeding a handhole this handhole was going to be fed from a new Vault that was put in to upgrade the service the old wire secondary running from the 750kva to the hand hole were removed the new feed ran like this the 1200kva 277/480v padmount transformer fed the new vault from the new vault too the old handhole the old handhole would become the contractors property. the new vault had two service the old handhole (feed#1) and a new feed going too another building(feed#2)Me and my partner(crew#1) work on the transformer end we had 6 runs of 500cu. feeding to the new vault (feed#2)we lay out each wire on the ground marking each end as we went with each one.the other crew(crew#2)worked on the vault they had a split feed four set's of 350cu feeding new feed(feed#2)and the old feed(feed#1) going to the handhole Four set's of 750AL.They first marked the cable by the electrical contractors markings accordingly.then made the connections from the transformer to the new 1200kva 277/480v transformer.We finished before the contractors who were still working in the handhole. We all took a break then returned.The contractor was ready for us too energize the service the trans former was fed off of a 26kv Y 397AL.overhead primary system underground to a 600A S&C padmount switch witch fed to the 1200kva 277/480v padmount transformer.Me and my partner got the order from the foreman too close this switch in the S&C switch the fuses were 65k Q fuse limiters my partner close the first fuselimiter and got a hungry yellow arc I thought humm. then he close the second fuse limiter and got this low kind of grumble sound that went silent we both look at each other at that point like that's not right? we looked over too the foreman and he gave us a look too like humm and then paused for a second and gave us the nod to close the third and final fuse limiter. at this point I'm thinking let's do this and get home So I can catch the Game(FOOTBALL)He closed the last and final fuse limiter. it went real quiet like the calm before the storm then the switch gear went into this meltdown right in front of us it was something right out of a science fiction movie then me and my partner looked at each other with our eyes popping out of our heads and I was thinking If you Value you you know what YOU BETTER RUN! HE was with me My foreman Leading the way out I never seen or knew he could run so fast!the switch gear caught on fire and looked like the space shuttle trying to lift off it's pad.I looked to my left at the 397AL line feeding this and it was like looking at dancing wire moving to a jazzy beat.After the feeder relayed out we had just Put the City of Buien in the dark, about 11,000 people. the people near the seen called the local fire department we explained what was up while we switch was burning away.I thanked god for sparing us all that day and then we went over our dilemma we went back two block's to the transformer, where the contractor was with eye poked out of his head He described the awful sounds he herd from the transformer to make already long story short we traced the problem down too the contractors side of the service he took white,brown,orange,yellow one set of his wires and then yellow,orange,brown white on the other's went opposite crossing the hole work's .A big investigation came down and we were to blame because we made the FINAL CONNECTION! Never ever get in a rush doing this work we had Five journeymen present and not one of us caught THIS! Don't trust a Customers Hookup's We should have waited till the customer was done with he's side then we should have rung it OUT! we end up replacing the hole switchgear out and the 1200kva 277/480v transformer and missing the game. that's another story Thank god I can live too tell this. BE SAFE BROTHER AND SISTERS YOUR LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS!!! GOODBYE.