Powerlines

Two of us were lucky that day. I energized the whole tree with another climber on the back half of it. The leave tips were biting us as we bailed out. Line man gave me a long talk that day.
 
MrPopper said:
So I tried this morning with a turn down. Oh well. On to the next i guess. The said he would have appreciated a phone call. I guess all people are different.
Click to expand...

Josh you seem like a nice person. This has been a nice thread. I guess I should assume we are just talking about a job, not actually getting a job. You know there are people who post and are more than welcome here that don't even climb right?

When you first started posting and talking about getting a job in the trees I looked at your profile page or whatever and think I saw you are an EMT or in an ambulance or some such. Good for you, I couldn't even begin to do that. Lots of possitive things about that to be proud of and enjoy. Pay must be pretty increadible too. That would be beyond hard to walk away from....

There are tons of things that I'm not good at in life/tons that I can't or don't care to do. But I think the thing that makes me able to take trees apart or trim them up and make them beautiful day after day is the same thing that makes me think I could get a job at each and every place you have walked away from. I look for what needs to be done and then just do it, one step after the other until it is finished.

Do you have Butch on Speedial? Have you employed his technique for being irresistable to tree services? Oh well, I guess all people are different. (Sarcasm)

Never mind me Josh I'm probably just being an idiot.
 
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  • #233
My job doesn't pay as well as you would think. It"s a job you do because you love it not for money. I told my wife before we got married that if she was looking for a money man to make a differnt choice. I love it but I want to do phyiscal work too.

Honestly, I don't know how to make myself irresistible. You would think that with what I do now I'd be good at talking to strangers but I'm not all that great at. I don't understand what you guys mean by being able to get a job at any of these places. None of them seem to want me. I don't know why not.
 
treebilly said:
They can't grasp that I can be fine in the boom but the truck could be juiced.
Click to expand...
Transmission live line barehand work is what's crazy. That's where you energize yourself intentionally. The bucket has a metal liner in it and the boom must be tested daily and if it's the least bit damp or dirty, it won't pass. I did some work on the 69,000v lines but we had crews that did up to 500,000v. With the 500kv you have to wear a conductive suit as well. Unclipping (de-energizing) draws a pretty big arc and if you tease it, it will eat you up.
 
There was an accident on my road where the power pole was sheared off. The victim was conscious and mobile. They backed the ambulance in to pick the guy up and their route took them within a few feet of the high voltage lines. Very few feet. I know being on rubber tires insulated the ambulance but it still made me cringe.

The power men came and the guy put on a rubber glove and grabbed on the line. I don't mind 220 but keep me away from that stuff.
 
Your first responders are very fortunate. If it was primary voltage and the lineman handled it with rubber gloves from the ground, it was de-energized at that point. It may have been hot when the first responders got there, but handling energized primary from the ground even with rated gloves is a no no and will still light you up. Even de-energized, we had to use gloves and a 6' insulated stick on the ground until the line was "grounded". In the bucket just rubber gloves.
 
Actually Butch, it's to keep you energized at all times (at the same potential as the wire). You wear conductive overshoes with a lead strapped around your leg and the bucket liner is what is normally connected to the wire. Otherwise, you might get zapped every time you move away from or touch the edge of the bucket if you had rubber soled boots on. It's not lethal but it can be a heck of a pop. If you're not expecting it, it'll make you say ouch. Or something else.
 
MrPopper said:
My job doesn't pay as well as you would think. It"s a job you do because you love it not for money. I told my wife before we got married that if she was looking for a money man to make a differnt choice. I love it but I want to do phyiscal work too.

Honestly, I don't know how to make myself irresistible. You would think that with what I do now I'd be good at talking to strangers but I'm not all that great at. I don't understand what you guys mean by being able to get a job at any of these places. None of them seem to want me. I don't know why not.
Click to expand...

Not YET, but... I'm telling you man... it ain't late enough... it's too early still. March in there late August and say, "Gimme a job!" And they'll say, "Alright, I can start you at such and such." Then you say, "Nah, I need two bucks more."... and they'll throw it at you. (fingers crossed)
 
My friend is a school bus driver. She said they do drills for getting out of the bus if a line falls on it. The tires insulate. The tires conduct. Like everything, it is a matter of degrees. They have some amount of time before the tires can catch fire.


Best thing you might do to get a job, is call one of us for a mock interview, one evening.

Sell the EMT part.
 
Yea I agree it's nuts, a buddy up north does helicopter insulator changes, he said and showed me that process where they make the copter hot then de energize it once off the copter and on the pole leap frogging with a team of three.
 
The one time I climbed TV towers the fella told me to jump on it so I wouldn't get a zap from the static ele build up on the tower.
 
Could be. I like having someone medically trained onsite for more involved tree work. A good back-up. I also figure that after seeing mained people from car wrecks and accidents, they would realize why its important to work safely and go home with all ten fingers and toes.

I know that seeing a dead guy at a car wreck made an impression on me.



Kids have to do bus drills where they hop off, feet together, and hop away from the "electrified" bus with their feet together.
 
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