Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126098722 - La City Water & Power

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

A power line crew of at least eight employees was dispatched to remove about 60 to 90 meters of underground cable running from an underground vault on Third Avenue to another on Vermont Avenue. The cable was one of several cables in the vaults, some of which were energized at 34 kilovolts. The cable to be removed, which had been cut previously at the vault on Third Street, was marked differently from what was indicated on the printed plans. The employees initially planed to identify the target cable by moving it in the Third Street vault and determining the target cable by looking for cable movement in the Vermont Avenue vault. However, the employees in the Vermont Avenue vault used a Tic Tracer and a listening coil to identify the target cable. Their testing showed that the cable was deenergized. The employees further tested the cable by spiking it once, which also showed that it was deenergized, although the employer's procedure called for three spikes, one for each phase. One of the three employees at the Vermont Avenue vault cut the cable, which was, in fact, still energized. The cable faulted and the ensuing electric arc burned the employee who cut the cable and one of his two coworkers. The fault also caused the cable insulation to burn, producing smoke in the vault. The three employees in the vault at Third Street were draining oil and disassembling wye ports on a circuit when fire, fumes, and smoke came out of the cable behind them. Altogether, eight employees suffered smoke inhalation and were transported to various hospitals. (Only the most seriously burned employee, who was treated at a burn center, was listed on an injury line on the original form.)

Keywords: BURN, ELECTRIC ARC, ELECTRICAL, POWER LINE WORKER, E PTD, UNDRGRD INSTALLATION, ELEC UTILITY WORK, ELECTRICAL FAULT, SMOKE INHALATION, UNDRGRD POWER LINE