He was just supposed to drive the truck.......

I was doing some wiring today and it reminded me of a story I was told.I worked for a sub contractor to the local power company.They have a safety program that is just first class.So here is the story:

There was a young guy working for a power company for the summer while he was out of school.(college that is)

They had a overnite job and he was working driving the truck.Major grid work that required shutting down blocks in the city at a time.The guys that handle this stuff all the time are equipped with long fiberglass poles to shut off the breakers on the transformer and are dressed on no contact shoes and clothing that doesn't burn.They where doing this grid because it have deteriorated to the point if they hadn't,it would fall down and really hurt someone.It was overhead and underground systems being replaced.So there was a huge crew on hand.

One of the guys in a bucket truck that the college student drove to the site was in the process with his long fiberglass pole shutting down one of the transformers.Without warning the 440 line dropped to the ground in the middle of the street.The college student for this summer job,jumped out of the truck and grabbed the line to move it out of the street.With all the noise he likely didn't hear the guy in the bucket yell at him.The student was wearing sneakers,T-shirt,and jeans.In a instant the sneakers melted to the ground and his t-shirt and jeans where on fire.The guy in the bucket almost fell out of it trying to get the transformer breaker off.The student was told a number of times never,ever get out of the truck.

The next morning at a news broadcast the young man's mother and the foreman on the job said in tears for a guy that was liked by all,what a terrible loss.Said:

He was just supposed to drive the truck...............

Question is why am I sharing this here?.Well as I said,I was working on wiring my compressor and it brought to mind all you guys that I want you all to be careful when doing the same thing.I really like all of you and if anyone got hurt or worse it would really bug me.The other reason is this time of the yr many of us have college age kids home working a summer jobs.Take you kids and set them down and tell them if they are ever told to do something that is a hazard,come home and you will be sure to support them or working it out some other way.That no summer job is worth all that.

Thanks for listening,

Gary

Good Word Gary -

Years ago I wired a house for my brother-in-law. As I was buttoning up the panel I explained to him how it was labeled, i.e., "this one is the well house", and "this one is the garage plugs", etc.. He interrupted me and said, "this is the only one I need to worry about because it goes off before I ever touch anything electrical!" Of course, he was pointing to the 200 amp main breaker.

If you don't know (young or old) there's no crime in asking someone who does it for a living or is competent - especially where electric service is involved. Electrocution plays no favorites and it kills without conscious.

Very Good Word!!!

I got hit with 480 because I was told the power was off. I didn't check and darn near got killed. I was 22 years old. Actualy blew a 30 amp fuse with my forearm. Always check TWICE no one is perfect we all make mistakes some only do it once.

Man Charlie that had to result in a trip to the ER and one big laundry bill - I hope you've thanked Jesus for every day since! 30 amps through the forearm has killed many. You were one fortunate fella!

A good reminder, Gary. Having spent the major part of my working life in that trade, from top to bottom, or vice-versa, I have had many experiences in that vein. It always scares me when a tyro gets a bit of education and thinks he has the world by the tail. We had college summer interns, mostly all engineering majors working on our line crews most summers, and we had to watch them like a hawk. Actually, they were no different than a new hire "Grunt", except that a few thought they were smarter than the rest of us. Some were pretty good, and some were just an accident waiting for the right moment. Fortunately, we never had anyone hurt bad because of some of the boneheaded things some of them did.

I wound up with a big hole in my arm and sore as heck for a long time. Having worked in a big factory for a lot of years you see a lot of bad things happen. When you look into them about everytime it is related to taking a short cut, or trusting someone else. I have seen the results of electricution 13k vac in a soaking pit (Electric furnace) one shoe and some tools were about all that was left. Trust no one with your life.