Power Lines Down

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Lafleur on April 27, 2009 at 8:28am

That's a pretty broad question. Like everything else, it depends on the situation. We don't have set written guidelines. For me personally, If it is in a closed in back yard, I contact the home owner and advise them of the danger, call the utility co, and clear. We have a lot of chainlink fence neighborhoods and this creates a big problem if the wire is on the fence because the entire block could be charged to some degree, especially if the ground is dry. If it is in an alley or roadway, we pretty much stay there till the utility co gets there. During storms when we had one after another, we have conned the PD into babysitting some so we could go the next call. During at least one particularly bad call we were actually checking on them, taping them off if possible, and leaving because there were so many, I hated doing that, but we just couldn't babysit so many, and during those times the utility co response in in hours, and sometimes the next day.

Some other thoughts. One of the first things I tell rookies, is always assume any wire is live, and always assume any grassfire (urban area) is caused by a downed line till proven otherwise. I know of at least one firefighter in a bordering town that was killed by stepping on a wire at a grassfire.

Another problem is service lines partially pulled away from houses. Sometimes this causes reverse grounding thoughout the house where the grounds become charged. Many houses are grounded to the cold water, so the cold water pipes become live, which go to the hot water heater, if it is gas, the copper gas lines become live. I got shocked turning off the gas meter at one of these deals. They truly cause a house to become possessed.

Hope this helps a little.

Bryan Lafleur
"There is too much tact and not enough courage in today's American society". Gene Duncan, USMC ret'd.

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