Had a scare at work today.........

I have posted this on another board so if you have already seen it them I'm sorry.


This puts things into perspective to say the least.

Me and another guy from work were hanging some aerial cable to provide service for a new doctors office. The power company had aready installed their service for the building....well all was going good until a slack primary wire touched an overhead guy-wire. That's when sparks started flying and then it touched again and made the worst noise I have ever heard and a fire ball about 5-6' big shot out around it, this all happened about 20' from where I was. Finally the overheads got fried into(the primary cut thru it like it was hot butter) and the primary did also. The overhead guy wires landed on my bucket truck with me still in the basket with no where to go, luckily they where not energized anymore. The primary continued to hit another strand until it finally melted into. The power guy told me that the primary that caused all this had about 14,000 volts on it. If it would have broke into about 15' longer it would have hit my work truck and energized it, which would probably have killed me....the other guy and I are very glad to still be hear. So to say the least this was way to close for comfort.

I learned today that it was not my time to leave this place just yet and that God's hand was over me during this.

If you haven't hugged your loved ones today please do so....for life is to short and anything could happen.

thats why electrions get paid alot an hour

Wow............ Glad to hear you made it without getting hurt or worse.......

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Originally Posted by bornbad71

If you haven't hugged your loved ones today please do so....for life is to short and anything could happen.

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AMEN to that!

glad your still with us bro

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Originally Posted by ChiTownTommy

thats why electrions get paid alot an hour

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I don't want any job that has to work around that much voltage...the power comp guys don't make enough money if you ask me.

Normally all we have to worry about is the weight of cable, which if not handled properly can kill you also, this is my first run in with high voltage falling......and hopefully my last!

Glad you made it out safe on that one bro....personally,I would have sh!t my pants!!! :eek:

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Originally Posted by bornbad71

I don't want any job that has to work around that much voltage...the power comp guys don't make enough money if you ask me.

Normally all we have to worry about is the weight of cable, which if not handled properly can kill you also, this is my first run in with high voltage falling......and hopefully my last!

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time to ask for a raise, :lol: but i am glad to hear your ok

glad you are okay bro....I hate messing with electricity....even 12 volts....

Thanks everyone. It really didn't hit me until I was heading home at what a close call it really was. I think my adrenalin rush was to elevated way to high to start with. My biggest concern was making sure my co-worker was ok since he was on the ground under it and then making sure that the public didn't get hurt. We are trained that way and it just kicked in without even thinking. I have always known there are dangers with my job, but this one was to close even for me.

wow...thats crazy...i dont even know you and im glad your ok... that is some scary stuff... i dont know how electricians know all that stuff.. confuses the hell out of me...
good advice about hugging your loved ones... you never know when you time is up...

Electricity is a very dangerous thing. Glad you didn't get hurt.

Where you in a boom bucket at the time? If so, if the power line touched your truck as long as you weren't grounding yourself to anything outside the bucket you wouldn't have been zapped. However that fireball...Well that is a different story. That is why I only do electrical work around the house. Working with things with that voltage or high ampage I want nothing to do with.

glad you made it...that stuff is not something to joke around about...i got shocked by a 220 in high school and though i was gonna die, so that must have really been freaky!

Thanks again bros....we all talked about it at work today and we are lucky neither of us got hurt or killed.

Shredz, yes I was working in the bucket, so basically I had no where to run. All I could do was get my boom as far away as possible. The overhead guy wires fell on my truck but where not energized so that was good. My truck has stickers all over it that say it is not an insulated truck, even though you would think as long as the tires hold up and don't burst it would be OK, but I don't want to test it either. Electricity will follow the easiest path to ground....I'm very glad I wasn't that path.

A cable TV guy got shocked about 2 yrs ago in the same town that I was working in....there strand hit a primary and a fire ball ran the cable strand. When it hit his hand it came out his hip....left a nasty hole there, but he is still alive and greatful to be here.

if the electrical wiring is not your fault than sue :)

Glad to hear you are aight !