Beware of electricity

[48Rob]

It is graphic...but a very good reminder of how complacent we can become around the electrical systems that make our lives easier...

Death can be just a simple mistake away...

Rob

[mk10108]

3rd world mind meets 1st world technology.....unforgiving

[Nitetimes]

My uncle was killed in a bucket truck somewhere up in NY by high voltage. It doesn't take long to for a small error to escalate!
One of the problems is that it tends to explode your internal organs making it very difficult to live. He did for about 4 hours.

[cokebottle10]

I have seen in person the aftermath of this type of accident. A wearhouse was built next to a substation feed. Later on a pipe rack was added to the side of the building under the power lines. At the time the power lines were about 15 feet above the pipe rack. Over time more pipes were added, the rack got higher and the space was reduced to about 7 feet. A young kid was a helper redoing the roof of the wearhouse. At the end of the day he was pulling up the tag line getting ready to go home. The line was run over the top of the pipe rack. When he jerked it up it rapped around one of the feeders. He then climbed up on top of the pipe rack to get the line loose and grabbed the feeder. I do not think he ever knew what hit him.

When I got there he was laying on top of the roof about twenty feet away from were he touched it. His shoes were blown off and were still on fire. His body was still smoking much like it was in the video. That was a sad day for everyone.

[madjack]

PB, my uncle was lineman for a local utility company for over 40 years...several years ago, while wearing triple insulated-to-the-elbows lineman's gloves, he got caught in an arc...it literally exploded his forearms resulting in many months of rehab to get back to normal...as you just demonstrated and he as well, even professionals get caught out and it happens faster than you can blink...as they say...SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT..................
madjack

[ARKPAT]

I'm sure no expert. I got my once in ten years BUZZ today. Yep it still hurts and feels the same. I lived.
I NEVER WORK ALONE ! ! !WE ALWAYS HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT TO DO IF SOMETHING HAPPENS AND ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE EXPERENCED WORKING WITH YOU ! ! !
I DO NOT RECOMMEND GETTING SHOCKED; BELIEVE ME ! ! !




Pat

[wlooper89]

Madjack,

Thank you for your input. The story about one's own relative can help other forum members.

Bill

[madjack]

Bill, I have spent my entire working life in one blue collar field or another...I have seen more "accidents" caused from thoughtlessness, ignorance or just plain old stupidity...over the years, I have come to believe, it is almost impossible to be "too" safe or safety conscious...when I was an instructor at a truck driving school, I used to tell my students, it only takes an extra minute to doit safely/correctly but it can take a life time to get over not doing so...what I liked about PB's post about his injury and the story of my Uncle, is the fact, they show, even professional can get hurt and hurt in a very bad way...and it all happens so quickly...STAY SAFE...PLAY AND WORK SMART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
madjack

[JohnnyG]

Do I need the password to see video?

[madjack]

powderburn has left the building...I guess he locked up his access to the video as well...gee what a shame....

[wlooper89]

If anyone still wants to to see the shocking video I can send it as an e-mail attachment if you send me your address in a PM. It is a wmv file and 3MB in size. I could not figure out how to post a link to the video on the forum and that may be just as well. It is hard to watch and I fully agree with the previous warnings and disclaimers.

Bill

[Larwyn]

If anyone still wants to to see the shocking video I can send it as an e-mail attachment if you send me your address in a PM. It is a wmv file and 3MB in size. I could not figure out how to post a link to the video on the forum and that may be just as well. It is hard to watch and I fully agree with the previous warnings and disclaimers.

Bill

It also has very little to do with the voltage levels at which we work on Teardrop Trailers or even homes, or for that matter most commercial buildings. I'm sorry, safety is very important, but exaggeration is quite misleading. It is not our place to incite fear of electrical work to that extent. That video compared to the electrical system of an RV is equivalent to comparing a 30-06 to a paintball gun. Be safe, but be informed..

[chorizon]

I don't care to see the video because I can only imagine...

Check all wires with a meter before doing anything with them!

Make sure there is no voltage!

If you don't have a meter don't screw with it!

If you don't know how to use a meter get someone to show you!

Check it again!

Measure twice, cut once applies here but in a different sense. When I was 18 and knew nothing about electricity a Journeyman Electrican asked me to kill a circuit to a big exhaust fan he was about to work on. I thought the breaker was off, he reached in and grabbed the wires and was blown back and fell 15 feet to a rack that was 10 feet off the ground. If he would have fell the extra 10 feet he would have hit concrete and probably would have been dead. He blamed me for telling him the cicruit-breaker was off. Now in retrospect I realize he had his destiny in his own hands and should have checked the wires before going in!

Be sure of yourself before touching potentially live wires!

[Larwyn]

I don't care to see the video because I can only imagine...

Check all wires with a meter before doing anything with them!

Make sure there is no voltage!

If you don't have a meter don't screw with it!

If you don't know how to use a meter get someone to show you!

Check it again!

Measure twice, cut once applies here but in a different sense. When I was 18 and knew nothing about electricity a Journeyman Electrican asked me to kill a circuit to a big exhaust fan he was about to work on. I thought the breaker was off, he reached in and grabbed the wires and was blown back and fell 15 feet to a rack that was 10 feet off the ground. If he would have fell the extra 10 feet he would have hit concrete and probably would have been dead. He blamed me for telling him the cicruit-breaker was off. Now in retrospect I realize he had his destiny in his own hands and should have checked the wires before going in!

Be sure of yourself before touching potentially live wires!

A very good point. It was up to him to confirm that the breaker that you killed was in fact supplying the wire which he intended to touch. Him blaming you was simply a refusal on his part to take responsibility for his own actions. He was probably much farther from death than he would have you believe.

[chorizon]

Vindication! Thanks, Larwyn.