06 November 2001

Latest Installation photos from San Antonio TX over 40 units installed to date on various manufacturers equipments

Power Line Contact Accidents:

13 September 2000

Dead Cable Installer A Newport News Man Wednesday, September 13, 2000; Page B05 A cable installer who was electrocuted when he touched a high-voltage line in Fairfax County Monday morning was identified yesterday as Ricky R. Hughes, 42, of Newport News. Police said Hughes was installing cable television lines as a subcontractor for Cox Cable. About 10:30 a.m., Hughes was standing in the bucket of a cherry picker in the 1300 block of Beulah Road, just off Route 7, when he came in contact with a 19,500-volt line. The shock killed Hughes instantly, police said. Police said they did not know yesterday whether Hughes or the bucket touched the line.
© 2000 The Washington Post Company

30 August 2000 Worker jolted when equipment hits power line

BY JEFF SHIELDS, sun-sentinel.com
Web-posted: 5:34 p.m. Aug. 30, 2000

DAVIE, FL. A worker was jolted by electricity for three-to-four minutes on Wednesday afternoon when the equipment he was operating struck a live power line.
The man, employed by Ocean Equipment and Supply Inc., was using a cherry picker when the equipment hit the line, said Davie Police Lt. Gary Killam. The worker, was knocked away from the electrical current when one of the tires on the vehicle ruptured. The incident happened around 4 p.m. at the business, 6951 SW 21 Court.
The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to Broward General Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition.  Electrical jolt in Davie leaves worker critically injured

By JEFF SHIELDS Sun-Sentinel
Web-posted: 12:04 a.m. Aug. 31, 2000

DAVIE, FL. A Fort Lauderdale man was severely injured Wednesday after a piece of equipment struck a power line, shocking him with more than 7,500 volts as helpless co-workers looked on. The man was in "critical, critical condition" Wednesday night at Broward General Medical Center, said Davie Police Lt. Gary Killam, who would not release the man's name before his family was contacted. Killam said the man, about 35, was working in the parking lot of Ocean Equipment and Supply, 6951 SW 21st Court, around 4 p.m. He was raising the platform of a mechanical lift, commonly known as a cherry-picker, when it struck the power line.
The man, who was standing on the ground and operating the lift from a side control panel, was jolted as his lift and one nearby caught fire. The man was leaning on the machine, and the current apparently passed from his chest to his feet, said Davie Fire-Rescue Lt. William Busker. Workers watched in horror, unable to reach the man for three to four minutes. "If they go anyplace near him, they're also going to be ... (shocked)," Killam said. Two workers reached him after a burning tire blew out, causing the machine to lurch and throw the man away from the current. Davie Fire-Rescue stabilized him before he was taken to the hospital. He suffered severe electrical burns, Busker said. The current in the line was 7,620 volts, said Charlie McCourt, the restoration specialist on the scene for Florida Power & Light. Surrounding businesses and homes lost power for about half an hour while the area's power grid was shut down so firefighters could put out the fire. Killam said the man was performing a typical end-of-the-day routine in which the lifts are extended upward as they are parked for the night.
Lauderdale man remains critically injured from electric shock By JEFF SHIELDS Sun-Sentinel
Web-posted: 10:43 p.m. Aug. 31, 2000

DAVIE -- A Fort Lauderdale man, severely shocked in a freak accident in Davie on Wednesday, remained in critical condition Thursday at Broward County Medical Center. Michael Biglen, 35, survived an accident that sent more than 7,500 volts of electricity through his body as he operated a mechanical lift at Ocean Supply and Rental in Davie. Biglen was operating a cherry-picker from the ground when the platform on the machine struck a power line, shocking Biglen. Horrified co-workers, unable to approach Biglen, watched for at least three minutes before a tire on the machine burst, making the machine lurch and throwing Biglen away. Biglen suffered severe burns, especially to his right leg, where the current passed from his body to the ground. He was in intensive care Thursday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.


26 August 2000 Published on 08/26/2000, THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER BOOM TOUCHES A POWER LINE, KILLING WORKER SHOCK KNOCKS MAN OFF TRUCK A piece of machinery touched a power line Friday morning, electrocuting a 27-year-old construction worker from Monroe, N.C., said York County Coroner Doug McKown.A York County Sheriff's Office report identified the dead man as Keith William Bessent Jr. He was part of a crew working on a Seaside Drive home in York when the accident happened at 8:30 a.m., the report said.


26 July 2000


http://www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/july00/reg4_20000726.html

Region 4 News Release:   USDOL: 00-134
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
Contact: Powell McDonald
PHONE: (954) 424-0242

The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Kohler Construction Company, Inc., and proposed penalties totaling $70,000 for safety violations at a West Palm Beach, Fla., construction site. According to Jose Sanchez, OSHA's Ft. Lauderdale area director, the company was moving power lines and installing new poles at Tamarind Ave. and 15^th Street on Feb. 3 when a worker was electrocuted. Following the fatality investigation, OSHA issued one repeat citation against Kohler for violating OSHA standards by allowing employees to be exposed to energized electrical lines. This is the second electrocution of a Kohler Construction Company employee at a Florida construction site within the past three years. In this case, the worker was elevated in an aerial bucket, preparing to drill holes in a concrete pole, when he came in contact with a 7620 volt energized electrical line. "Too many Florida construction workers are being killed on the job," said Sanchez. "And too many of the deaths are the result of electrocutions." In 1999, to respond to the high rate of construction accidents in Florida, OSHA launched CARE - Construction Accident Reduction Emphasis program. The program follows extensive outreach activities with an equally extensive inspection and enforcement effort. This year, the agency introduced two new special emphasis programs under CARE, one targeting electrocutions involving overhead power lines and the other involving falls from elevations. "Construction is a very hazardous industry. In 1999, electrocution and fall accidents accounted for 63 percent of the total construction fatalities in Florida," said Sanchez. "This spring, we conducted outreach sessions across the state and, as a result, many contractors, unions and other interested parties have formed partnerships aimed at reducing serious construction accidents and deaths occurring in Florida." Sanchez added, "OSHA hopes to raise awareness among Florida contractors that failing to take safety precautions can result in heavy costs, both in human suffering and financial resources." OSHA issues a repeat citation when an employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar condition and that citation has become a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. St. Petersburg-based Kohler Construction Company, Inc., employs approximately 275 workers nationwide and had about 75 employees working at the West Palm Beach site. The company has 15 working days to contest the OSHA citation and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Inspection of the worksite was conducted by OSHA's Ft. Lauderdale area office located at 8040 Peters Rd., Bldg. H-100, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 33324; phone: (954) 424-0242. For more information about the CARE program, please contact any of OSHA's three Florida offices - Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville or Tampa.  

Worker killed, 2nd man injured
22 July 2000 KEENESBURG — A Loveland man was killed and a Greeley man injured while trying to rescue him at a bridge-replacement construction site in southern Weld County.

Brian Nara, 33, an employee of Western Concrete Pumping, was electrocuted when a concrete-pumping boom he was operating touched a 7,620-volt power line. Nara was operating the long arm of the machine with a remote-control box strapped to his chest. Mike Eagleson, 52, suffered minor wounds from the electrical surges when he tried to remove the box from Nara's chest.
Same Company: Vehicle Fire Downtown - March 27, 2000
At 0954 this morning, the EPVFD was called to a report of a construction vehicle on fire in the downtown area, on Cleave Street just West of Big Horn Drive. Upon arrival, fire units found a concrete pumping truck partially involved in fire with the boom extended and in contact with a primary electrical overhead power line. The truck operator was not on the vehicle at the time of the contact, operating it by remote control. Despite firefighters being in place and prepared to attack the fire, suppression efforts were delayed approximately 15 minutes while Light & Power crews isolated and disconnected the affected power line. That power line carried 7,200 volts, which could have killed anyone coming into contact with the line or truck, including fire fighters using water to suppress the fire. Electrical service was interrupted for several hours until the concrete trucks’ owners (Western Concrete Pumping - Loveland), Fire Department & Light & Power crews could safely remove the boom from the power line.  The EPVFD also cleaned up a small hydraulic fluid spill from the site of the incident to the intersection of Elkhorn & Moraine Avenue. Further clean up will be handled by the truck owners and recovery service. Recovery of the vehicle is expected to be made after 5pm today.  Chief Dorman estimates that of the $405,000 cost of the truck, $100,000 was saved in salvageable parts by fire fighting efforts, as well as the prevention of spread to nearby exposures.  Adjoining businesses were not damaged as a result of the fire. No injuries were reported to fire fighters or citizens. Nineteen fire fighters answered the call, and were on the scene for 4 hours.


      

N.C. Man Dies After Being Electrocuted on Work Site 6 June 2000 - Fairmont, N.C. (AP) -- A man was electrocuted in Robeson County after raising a dump bucket into a power line while unloading gravel. According to authorities, Thomas Venable was working alone off N.C. Highway 41 when he died Tuesday afternoon. A passing motorist saw the truck smoldering and found Venable. Venable was unloading gravel onto a lot when he drove the truck under the power lines and activated the hydraulic dump lift. The trailer clipped a ground wire before making contact with the 13,000-volt power line. The high voltage ignited four tires on the back of the truck and melted the air hoses and a hydraulic fluid line. Power line accident sends man to the hospital
6 June 2000-  Nashville, TN- What should have been a routine construction job nearly electrocuted a man Tuesday. Terry white, a crane operator for Elliot Crane Service, was nearly electrocuted while working behind the big K-Mart on Nolensville road. White was on the ground working on a steel cable when the arm of his crane, called a boom, was blown across un-insulated power lines. Rick Lauper was first to get to White ““I was afraid to get close to it because the boom was still swinging and every time it would swing there'd be an arc. It burned him up pretty bad, he was combative. I was trying to get him to lay down and be still.”” NES officials say the accident sent nearly 24-thousand volts of electricity surging through white's body.  

KGAN Photographer Involved In Electrical Accident 28 May 2000 - (Cedar Rapids, IA) 09:15 PM ET (AP) A NewsChannel 2 photographer was shocked and burned on Saturday as he was raising the mast on a microwave news van. The mast came in contact with an overhead power line that was carrying 115,000 volts of electricity.

As of Sunday evening, 30-year-old Peter MacNaughton is in critical, but stable condition in the burn unit at University Hospitals in Iowa City.

MacNaughton was preparing for a live news report at Squaw Creek Park in Marion when the accident happened.
26 May 2000: (NORFOLK, VA) Norfolk loses power when crane knocks down lines By CINDY CLAYTON
© 2000, The Virginian-Pilot NORFOLK - About 20,000 downtown customers were left fanning themselves in the dark Thursday afternoon when a crane knocked power lines into the Elizabeth River near Harbor Park. The crane was being barged down the river about 4 p.m. when it snagged five high-tension lines, knocking them into the water, officials said. The high voltage lines carry 115,000 volts to and from downtown and the surrounding areas, Virginia Power spokeswoman Pat Gayle said. Power officials said that at the height of the outage, between 15,000 to 20,000 homes and businesses were without power in Norfolk. In Portsmouth, about 200 customers lost power, but the lights there were restored quickly. And about 500 customers in Chesapeake were left in the dark, officials said. ``Probably everybody in South Hampton Roads saw a blink of their lights,'' Virginia Power spokesman Charles Taylor told a television reporter. ``This is a very serious occurrence. . . this is a major part of our transmission system.'' At Norfolk City Hall, a diesel-powered generator the size of a minivan kicked in, keeping mainframe computer systems and emergency lights operating. But the generators, able to keep the city's essential functions running indefinitely, don't power the air-conditioning system, considered a luxury. ``It's getting a little stuffy in here,'' Bob Batcher, the city's public relations manager, said about 4:45 p.m. Thursday. City employees faced other inconveniences besides lack of air conditioning. They had no lights inside bathrooms, only one of the four elevators in the 11-story building was working, and some personal computers were out. But otherwise, it was business as usual, Batcher said. It was a different story on Norfolk's west side, where restaurants and shops along 21st Street and Colley Avenue opened their doors for air circulation. Traffic lights were out on Tidewater Drive, Granby Street and Colley Avenue and intersecting streets, causing confusion for motorists. Police officers scoped the hardest hit areas and sent officers to direct traffic at the busiest intersections. Recreational boaters on the river could not travel down the southern branch after the Coast Guard closed it, a spokesman said. Coast Guard boats and Norfolk firefighters stood by as power crews formed a plan to fish the lines out of the water. By 5:30, power was restored to many houses and the cool air began to flow. Taylor said that many customers were switched to other circuits so that a major portion of the outage could be reversed. Staff writers Jon Glass and Jack Dorsey contributed to this report. 
Reach Cindy Clayton at 446-2540 or
22 May 2000: LOS ANGELES, CA  -- The overhead mast on a television news van came too close to power lines Monday, sparking a smoky explosion that rocked the TV truck, critically injuring a reporter and injuring two others. KABC reporter Adrienne Alpert and photographer Heather MacKenzie were covering a seat belt safety news conference at Hollywood Forever Cemetery when the accident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. It was unknown whether the officer was trying to help or was just nearby, said Jim Wells, city fire spokesman. All three were in or near the truck when the explosion occurred, Wells said. Alpert was in "stable in critical condition" and undergoing emergency surgery to relieve pressure caused by swelling in all four of her extremities Monday afternoon. Grossman Burn Center's Larry Weinberg said Alpert had third-degree electrical burns over 25 percent of her body, including one of her hands, her right forearm, her left forearm and upper arm, and on her feet to just above her ankles. MacKenzie and the officer were also taken to the hospital but their injuries were not as severe as Alpert's.
19 May 2000: YBOR CITY, FLORIDA -- A forklift lifting rafters hit a power line, knocking down a transformer. It fell onto construction debris. The fire moved from the debris to a palm tree next to the building. The building in the apartment complex had no wallboard or fire wall protection up yet and that allowed flames to spread quickly, Fire Department Captain Bill Wade said. Firefighters, by the numbers:
125 firefighters involved 2 square blocks
4 firefighters hurt 1 of those sent to hospital with possible heart attack

Damage estimates $30 million - apartment complex
$4 million - Post Office
$20,000 - tobacco warehouse
$30,000 - Catholic Church buildings
$30,000 - Ybor City Brewing Co.
$10,000 - U-Haul storage building and trucks Source: Tampa Fire Department Capt. Bill Wade

 
 

11 May 2000:Barge crane hits power line, 10,000 lose electricity By Jason Walker Staff writer NEW KENSINGTON, PA-- About 10,000 Valley customers lost power Wednesday morning after a barge carrying a crane knocked power lines into the Allegheny River. The barge, owned by Gutherie Diving Services of Kittanning, knocked down three lines and damaged another that connect to the Gobain substation in Arnold at about 7:30 a.m. Residents of Arnold, New Kensington, Lower Burrell, Harrison, Springdale and Tarentum were among those who lost power. Power was restored to most residents and businesses by mid-morning, and all power was restored by about noon after crews were able to reroute power to other area substations. Crews hope to have the lines back up by this morning, according to Allen Staggers, communications manager for Allegheny Power. The Coast Guard shut down the river at the New Kensington and Arnold shoreline so boats would not get caught in the wires and drag down one of the towers, Coast Guard Lt. John Francic said. He said the closing didn't cause many problems because traffic on the Allegheny River generally is pretty light at this time of year. Although the river was closed to general traffic, officials were able to let some boats through, Francic said. The power lines hung about 68 feet over the river, and the crane that hit them stretched about 100 feet into the air. The lines span about 1,000 feet across the river, Staggers said. "I heard my grandson yelling `Pap-pap, pap-pap, the wires fell down," said Lee Kiel of Ferry Street in Arnold. Kiel at first said he didn't believe his grandson until he went outside and saw a large, orange crane swaying back and forth tangled in the wires. The barge operator was able to drop the crane's boom, Kiel said, and it just kept on going down the river. Kiel said he realized it was an accident, but he did not understand why the barge operator would not stop to see if anyone was hurt. Typically, Staggers said if anyone damages any of their facilities, they are responsible for paying for the repair. He said the barge was in the area working on a gas line project. Calls to Gutherie Diving Services were not returned for comment. The outage caused some minor inconveniences for residents. Police from New Kensington and Lower Burrell had to direct traffic at various locations in their cities, and some businesses were forced to close for a few hours. New Kensington-Arnold School District Superintendent Tom Wilczek said the power outage did not cause any major problems, but officials considered sending students home. They didn't however, because he said they felt it would be too hard to get in touch with parents. The district regained power to all of its buildings by mid-morning, so Wilczek said the outage did not cause any major problems. Ronald Wasilak, superintendent of Allegheny Valley School District, said the district only lost power at Springdale High School. The district also considered sending students home but the school regained power at about 9:30 a.m. Citizens General and Allegheny Valley hospitals reported that they didn't experience any problems. Allegheny Valley Hospital wasn't affected and Citizens only lost power for a couple of minutes, according to spokeswoman Mary Lynn Alpino. She said that when the hospital loses power it automatically switches to another substation.   9 May 2000: Crane mishap disrupts power for thousands
IRON MOUNTAIN, WI -- Approximately 6,000 Wisconsin Electric customers were without electric service for about 35 minutes this morning. According to the information we received, the power outage occurred when a crane, owned by Schneiders Iron & Metal Inc., of Kingsford, Michigan, came in contact with a 69,000-volt line doing damage to the line.The line was isolated for repairs by a Wisconsin Electric crew. The south end of Iron Mountain, most of Kingsford and the Aurora-Homestead area were without power from approximately 7 a.m. to 7:35 a.m. It was also reported that when the crane touched the line there was a momentary outage of several seconds affecting an additional 4,000 customers in the remainder of Iron Mountain and Kingsford. The outage affected traffic signals at several intersections, but no serious accidents were reported, authorities said.



3 May 2000: Electric Accident Injures 3 in TV Crew Wednesday, May 3, 2000; Page B02
Alexandria, VA -- Three members of a WTTG-TV (Channel 5) news crew were injured last night when the mast of their transmission van apparently struck an overhead electric power line outside Alexandria police headquarters, police and fire officials said. A camera operator who was outside the truck when the accident occurred, about 9:15 p.m., and a man who was inside the truck were taken by helicopter to Washington Hospital Center for treatment of burns, authorities said. One was listed in fair condition, and the other was in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. A woman was less seriously injured and was taken to Inova Alexandria Hospital, officials said. The names of the three were not available immediately. The crew was apparently at police headquarters, in the 2000 block of Mill Road, for a live broadcast about the investigation of last month's fatal stabbing of 8-year-old Kevin Shifflett. 
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