PLEASE be careful!

[Hummingbird]

Lineman Dies Because Of Generator Being Hooked Up Wrong


A lineman was killed just before 5-pm today in Flomaton, when he contacted a power line that was energized by an improperly hooked up generator.

The man was pronounced dead at Jay Hospital. His name has not been released but he was from South Carolina.

Authorities are now looking for the person responsible for the generator and say he will be charged.

Generators that are installed directly into a home's wiring system can send a powerful charge back into lines that workers believe are dead.


Copyright 2005 WEAR-TV


Hi folks - just read this online while trying to guesstimate when my husband might be coming home from helping turn the lights back on after Dennis. Please, whatever you do - don't take shortcuts like this. I don't want to get the phone call that this man's wife did. Thank you.

Nance

[Donovan K]

These cases are really sad because a homeowner or whomever either was being lazy or just dumb. It is a good reminder, though. From the four hurricanes that struck here in florida last year, far more people were killed or injured by generators that by the actual storms, including such terribly tradgedies as children dying of carbon monoxide poisoning when their parent put the generator inside the house or garage, not venting it properly.

Stupidity kills.

Donovan

[gccrook]

The homeowner maybe ignorant or intentional, but the lineman should check what he is touching. Now, if it was dead and became alive while he was working, another story. Around here the linemen I know would never touch a line they had not tested, and even then, they wear gloves for protection. If you want to hook a generator up to your house, learn about the right way to do it. If you want to work on a line, even inside your house, check it first, then weara protective gloves if possible.

[crystalniche]

We have a really big generator in our motor home. We found this motor home for sale by the side of the road. It is older but the generator is in great shape. We use it in case of power outages to keep our food cold etc. but don't hitch it up to the house wiring. It is for this very reason that I am afraid of using a generator hitched up to the house. Maybe I'm being overcautious but I don't want to harm anyone.

[Gayle in KY]

While I wouldn't want to discount this tragedy, there is one line in the article that might have been worded a bit better~

Authorities are now looking for the person responsible for the generator and say he will be charged.

[cloverfarm]

Nance, I hear you on that. Lineman is one of the toughest jobs there is, without that happening.

We have a double throw switch where we hook up the generator.

Ann

[cloverfarm]

Originally Posted by gccrook

The homeowner maybe ignorant or intentional, but the lineman should check what he is touching. Now, if it was dead and became alive while he was working, another story. Around here the linemen I know would never touch a line they had not tested, and even then, they wear gloves for protection. If you want to hook a generator up to your house, learn about the right way to do it. If you want to work on a line, even inside your house, check it first, then weara protective gloves if possible.

There is always the possibility of fatigue and miscommunication. Some of the days on repair work like that are very, very long. And thankless. You might have someone unfamiliar with the area dispatching. And as utilities have privatized they expect 2 guys to do the jobs that 4 would have done a few years ago. In many cases lines have not been maintained, trees not trimmed, etc. because of trying to cut costs on labor.

Where my dad worked, the linemen did work on the lines while they were hot. I believe different utilities have different policies on that.

Not only do they wear gloves but the bucket is insulated; they have hot sticks; wear leather gloves and boots (leather does not conduct) with rubber gauntlets and over shoes; and stand and lean on rubber mats.

I couldn't do taht. I think guys must have nerves of steel to do that job. Not only heights, but the lines themselves and bad weather ... what a nasty combination!

Even so accidents happen but this sounds so, so unnecessary.

Ann

[Hummingbird]

Ann ,

Thank you very much for that post and the understanding of the life of a lineman. I truly appreciate it. I just talked to John and he's still in FL. Will be for a least a few more days. The motel he was in two days ago had no lights, no hot water and the floors were wet from the hurricane. They took their cold showers using flashlights! This was after working a 16-18 hour day.

Tonight they have moved "up" to Pace FL (not too much "down" or south of there!) and have lights, hot water and dry floors. However, they also took the guys clothes to do their laundry which is a pretty good sign that "it ain't over yet!".

He asked me if I had heard about the generator accident and I said yes. He said that what happens is that well-meaning people will come in with a truck load of generators but no instructions (like you might get at your local hardware store, Lowes or Home Depot) . People really need and want their power back on so they buy the generators and use them without fully understanding all that can be involved. He was very gracious about it and understands that these things can happen as bad as it is.

Please keep the guys in your prayers - we want them ALL to come home safe as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Nance

[Shepherd]

We have a large generator but had it wired up by professionals. If we need to use it, we throw the switch on the (I can't remember the name of the device), which prevents the backfeed, as I understand it.

I got the impression when I read it that it was a possibility someone powered up a generator while the lineman was working on a dead line. How sad... and yes, it's a horrible job. I don't know how those people do it! Sure glad they're out there to help us in a jam!

Our best to your husband and everyone else that's there working in that situation.

[Quint]

I've got a relative who just retired a few years ago after spending 30 some odd years as a lineman and supervisor. Those guys are a rare breed. It is MUCH safer now that it was back years ago but it is still a pretty dangerous business with no margin for error. Mistakes get you killed in that job. No do-overs. The worst my relative ever got hurt was a nasty flash burn when the line he was working on restoring was hit by lightning. When he was just starting out he also got some sort of chemical cocktail splashed on him and inhaled some fumes during a transformer explosion that were evidently dangerous. Guys from a state university wanted to monitor him for some time to see what long term effects of the exposure might be. He's still ornery and healthy as a horse 30 years later so it must not have hurt him much.

[CoonXpress]

Quint, that sounds like PCBs that was in the transformer. Real nasty stuff. At Lone Mountain, haz-mat dump in Ok, rumor is the first thing brought in was a brand Jaguar convertible that was under a transformer that exploded.
As for the lineman that is terrible.