Accidental Electrical Contact

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RIVERRAT

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About a 2 weeks ago came on a job to remove a decent size Bradford Pear. At first glance nothing seemed to difficult about the job.
It had the phone,TV & Service to the house going through & underneath it. A play set made of wood planks, you know the kind with a slide & bars to climb on, that was underneath & slightly out in front of the tree. There was also a nice storage shed.

None of these things where of much concern. Being just the regular stuff we all deal with while doing tree work around homes. As I was putting my saddle on I noticed the service wire to the house had been rubbing for a time on the upper branches. As it came through the center of the canopy on it's way to the house. I made a mental note to tie in away from it & be sure to check it before any of our work started.

After getting myself secure I looked "DOWN" from above {My first mistake} at the service. Service looked just fine.

The last limb to be removed goes over the phone & TV wires, the play set & the storage shed. I remove small sections of the tips that I am able to handle easily & pitch them over & clear of the targets below.

As I shorten up the limb getting into the bigger wood I have the guys throw a line over the phone & TV cable that is directly beneath the limb so they can pull it back out of the way. I take 2 steps down to make a cut & that's when I hear that noise that when it's close will make just about any climbers sphincter pucker:\: That very momentary humm was followed by a POW:O

I look down at the guys thinking their pulling the other 2 lines had some how made the contact. Both of their facial expressions told the tell. Before Ed my groundy could say anything I immediately took a step up. Only to hear another hummm .......POW:O

The service line was under tension from the tree. During the removal it had changed position under neath me after the release of tension. The weather strip was also rubbed off on the "BOTTOM SIDE" I could not have seen this from above. My saw on my saddle made contact with the ground & both 120 wires:O

The chain was spot welded to the bar & well you can see the rest. I should have done a much better job of inspecting the service to the house. I was complacent!!
 

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Holy sh*t! Gotta go remove some pears today too, glad you're ok.
 
Bummer about the saw but better it than you. I'll bet you don't forget that one anytime soon.
 
Were any of the clients house electronics damaged? Sometimes that happens in those situations and it can get expensive!
 
That always puts a different outlook on the job. Glad you didn't get in the circuit, Jeff. Those low voltage lines have probably killed more people than the high ones.
 
That was in April of 06. I was lowering the top boom so I could cut the top out of a tree behind the line. Obviously I found a bare spot in the wire; the only time that's happened and we caught it on camera.
 
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  • #19
Were any of the clients house electronics damaged? Sometimes that happens in those situations and it can get expensive!
Nothing got toasted in the house. The house was still recieving power after the incident. There where only but a few strands of the ground & power side intact
 
Usually aerial triplex remains in good shape for years.The exception is where it can come in contact to rub against a tree or something and wear out the insulation. It's only 240 volts but you still have to use caution.

The cute one is where the secondary some how gets into the primary and fires 7200 volts into the house. Usually the fire department gets a call on that deal,followed by the insurance company.
 
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  • #21
was the saw hanging short? did you get burned? yikes
I did not in any way get in the circuit.

I have in the past year changed slightly the way my saw attaches to my saddle.
In that it sits a little lower & the bar lays horizontal to the ground. I will be changing this soon to a bar tip pointing to the ground position on my saddle.

My reason for the change was one, going back to my O'l trusty use of a ladder hook placed through the top handle. Keeping the saw horizontal on my saddle helped keep the tip of the bar & chain from cutting the leather of my right boot to minimum.
But I have never quite got used to going back to the Horizontal lay of my 200 on my saddle. It seems to catch on everything. I will be changing to something different this week.
 
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  • #22
Bummer about the saw but better it than you. I'll bet you don't forget that one anytime soon.
The saw still works fine leaks a little oil. But other than that is no worse than the wear.
 
My reason for the change was one, going back to my O'l trusty use of a ladder hook placed through the top handle. Keeping the saw horizontal on my saddle helped keep the tip of the bar & chain from cutting the leather of my right boot to minimum.

Pay attention Butch :?





:P :lol:
 
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