Say A Little Prayer For Those Who Keep The Lights On

[Kieka]

I do the office work for guys who work on high voltage power lines, Linemen. One of our guys accidentally grabbed the primary power line today. He wasn't breathing in the ambulance but he is breathing at the hospital right now. I don't know yet how bad it is or if he will be okay. Two years ago we lost someone in a spark (hotter and brighter than the sun).

Please say a little prayer for our guy who is in the hospital. And another one that all the other linemen working out there today to keep the power going. It is a really dangerous job and most people don't even realize the 10-12 hour days, working in all weather and traveling far from home the Lineman do.

 

[neely]

Prayers and special thoughts going out to the lineman in the hospital as well as all the others who do such a special job.

 

[abyeb]

These people are amazing. Risking their lives to light up our cities and towns. I will certainly keep them in my prayers.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Oh no. We are part of a co-op for our electricity and they are good about sharing pictures and information via their Facebook page. It's definitely NOT a job for the careless or faint of heart.

We were traveling through western Virginia when the East Coast was preparing for Sandy. We saw dozens of bucket trucks headed north to help. And trucks with what I guessed were large generators and things. I was glad to miss the storm; but seeing that made me just grateful for these guys who were willingly traveling to help, knowing it would be an awful storm.

I hope and pray the gentleman you work with recovers and recovers well!!

 

[AbbysMom]

How awful. I hope he is doing better now.

 

[Kieka]

He is still in the hospital. My company paid to have him transferred to the best burn center in the area and for his family to fly here (plus hotel). It sounds like the electricity went straight down from the shoulder through his arm and out his fingers. That is probably what has saved his life so far. He will loose a lot of function in that arm and has lost some fingers. But if the electricity had gone through his torso it would have likely killed him immediately. The problem with electrical injuries is it can take weeks for the body to fully show the damage; he is in critical but stable condition.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

The waiting part must be so hard. An extra hard part to deal with I mean. I'm still praying for him.

 

[donutte]

Just saw this. Thinking good thoughts for your coworker and sending healing vibes.

 

[Kieka]

The guy is out of the woods and will survive. He lost a finger and has no memory of what happened or how it happened.

As a funny story:

We had a guy working up a pole recently. Because of what it fed it was shut off while they worked (yes, the guys work probably 80% on live wires). The homeowners of the yard the pole was in came running outside as he started to come down, "You better not leave that pole until my power is on!" He told her he had to get off the pole and do some work on an adjacent pole (which was the actual pole our crew was replacing) but she told him she wouldn't let him. She ran into her shed and came out with a shovel. At this point he is halfway down. She starts swinging the shovel at him, "Get back up that pole and turn on my power!"

Needless to say, he scurried back up the pole and planted himself up top. He waved to the crew on the other end and got their attention. They came to investigate and she started to swing her shovel at them and running back to the pole to keep him up it. The police were called and the situation resolved by her letting him off the pole.

We've had all manner of things happen. Dogs in yard, bees on poles, accidents, etc. All in a normal days work. Also, just a friendly reminder to not let go of mylar ballons or hang shoes on wire. It costs roughly $3,000 for a crew to go out there to take down shoes (which if it is on a school or business property then the school or business has to pay) and ballons are even more if they cause problems.

 

[abyeb]

What wonderful news! I'm glad to hear that he's doing well.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That's good news! Not that he lost a finger and all; but that he has pulled through!

People are something. Like the saying goes; it takes all kinds. Was she in the middle of something?

Our old neighbor worked for a company that trims trees around the power lines. He told DH that if you drop a branch or anything on a power line; you were immediately fired on the spot. They moved out of the area so I don't think I ever heard how common that is; but that's some job pressure! It's a safety issue of course; but yikes.

 

[lorie d.]

Thoughts and prayers are on the way for your co-worker to continue to do well

 

[Kieka]

The lady wasn't in the middle of something, or if she was, she shouldn't have been. It was a scheduled outage so mailers were sent out notifying the neighborhood along with things like "leave your refrigerator shut" and power will be out from 8am to 3pm in the three weeks before. We also have guys go down the street the week before and leave door hangers reminding them.

I could imagine. If the branch was big enough it could take down the line or smaller could start a fire. An emergency crew to repair that is a few thousand plus materials. Plus if someone got hurt. Pricy mistake along with the safety factor. Our guys get fired for wearing the wrong gloves or not wearing the fire resistant clothing we provide them.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

From what you say; I bet the company would get billed for the branch hitting it. I'm sure those incidents drive prices up for everyone too.

 

[DreamerRose]

I hope your fella continues to heal and will recover as much feeling as possible. We are lucky in this neighborhood to have underground utilities, but the next neighborhood over doesn't. Why people (the city) plant trees under power lines is beyond me. One tree has been pruned to a 20-foot V, which weakens the tree exponentially. It could come down in the next storm.

Underground lines have their problems, too. Our garden club has someone coming to present a program on JULIE - Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators. You can electrocute yourself planting an apple tree, and someone cut my phone line mowing the grass.

 

[Kieka]

We do both overhead and underground electrical work. While the overhead is exposed and more dangerous to the general public; the underground is more dangerous and expensive to work. We have had more accidents with underground work honestly. The guys accidentally kick something getting in or out for example. You can't see the wire to know it is frayed when pulling so they can knock out teeth/crack skulls when pulling if the line snaps and they aren't clear. Here we also have some vaults that will fill with water so pumping them out then working in a stinky wet hole essentially can cause problems when the guys rush.