Inspection Detail

Inspection: 110092855 - P & E Electric, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jacksonville Area Office

Investigation Summary

An electric utility called in a power line contractor to repair a line outage that was due to a fallen tree. The contractor's crew arrived at the utility's yard, where the utility person in charge told the crew's acting foreman what the problem was and instructed him to get whatever equipment was needed. (The crew's regular foreman had called in sick that day, so the lead power line worker, who had 10 years of experience, was acting foreman for the day.) After supplying their truck with tools and equipment, the crew left. The crew arrived at the worksite, and the four employees waded through knee-deep water to get to the fallen tree. The tree was lying on one conductor of a 115-kilovolt overhead power line and had pushed the conductor down to within about 1.4 meters of the ground. The crew had carried a chain saw, a rope, climbers, and some hand tools to the site. The crewmembers were looking for a dry place to lay the equipment when one of them saw the acting foreman with his hand on the conductor. The acting foreman then fell into the water. His coworkers yelled for the utility representative, who had accompanied them to the site, to call for emergency medical services. The coworkers then administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Because of the depth of the water, the crew carried the injured employee back to the truck and continued CPR until emergency medical services arrived. The rescue efforts were to no avail. The employee had been electrocuted.

Keywords: ELEC PROTECT EQUIP, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, PROTECTIVE GROUNDING, ELECTRICAL, CPR, POWER LINE WORKER, ELECTROCUTED, LOCKOUT, E PTD, ELEC UTILITY WORK