Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119972214 - Southern California Edison

Inspection Information - Office: San Bernardino District Office

Investigation Summary

A journeyman power line worker for an electric utility was working on an emergency call-out basis during a period of high winds. He was in a truck patrolling the area, looking for tree fires and downed overhead power lines, when he was dispatched to a utility pole in a residential area to repair an outage. He climbed the 40-foot-tall Class D pole and made the necessary repairs. (It was dark by the time he finished.) While descending the pole, he stepped around a telephone service cable located 20 feet above the ground and shifted his climbers. When he did this, one of the gaffs cut out, and the employee fell about 15 feet to the ground. He fractured his lower right leg just above the ankle. He was hospitalized for his injury.

Keywords: COMMUNICATION CABLE, POWER LINE WORKER, ELEC UTILITY WORK, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, UTILITY POLE, CUTOUT--GAFF