Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119538262 - Asplundh Tree Expert Co

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

A line-clearance tree-trimming crew was trimming trees away from a two-phase 13-kilovolt (7600-volt-to-ground) overhead power line. An acting foreman on the job, who had been with his company for 13 months, was training a ground worker to be a tree trimmer. The ground worker and the foreman were in a silver maple, with the ground worker located below and to the side of the foreman. The foreman, who was using a tree trimmer's saddle and who was tied in to his climbing rope, was standing on a branch that was 2.5 to 3 feet below the level of the power line. The tree itself was 5 feet from the line. The foreman had just explained to the ground worker about maintaining the 2-foot, 4-inch minimum approach distance to the power line. He noted that he was about 4 feet away. A branch broke, causing the foreman to slip off his branch and fall backwards. In falling, the foreman, who was 6 feet, 2 inches tall and who weighed 249 pounds, contacted the power line with his right hand while his feet were touching the tree. His coworkers rescued him from the tree and applied cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to no avail. The foreman was electrocuted.

Keywords: OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, TREE LIMB, CPR, ELECTROCUTED, SLIP, E PTD, TREE, ELEC UTILITY WORK, TREE TRIMMING