Electrical Hazards of Walking a Power Pole

Some people don’t think about electrical safety

In February, 1996, these pictures were taken of a guy who is high on drugs and attempting to kill himself. Toward the end of the 45-minute situation, this person had already defied death by tightrope walking from a previous low-voltage power pole, and hanging on to the other wire that was around him. The Power Company had de-energized the low voltage wire at this point... In the second picture, the guy reaches out with his hand and grabs the high voltage conductor! At that instant, 12,600 volts shot through his body (the guy is inside of the ball of fire). He did not fall at that moment, and probably couldn’t turn loose even if he wanted to. The air surrounding him becomes ionized and begins to conduct current and actually burn. The small ball of orange fire projecting toward the street light is where the arc went to ground through the secondary conductors. Notice the whipping action of the wire he is holding onto. Compare all 3 pictures to visualize what was happening as massive amounts of current try to reach ground... In the third picture, the ball of fire has started to subside. If you look closely you can still see his legs (faint shadows) at the bottom of the fireball as he is still standing on the cross arm... A flash of electrical power of this magnitude would kill most normal people, but this lucky guy actually survived contact with the high voltage line. joe-ks.com doesn’t think that the gene pool would have been diluted if this Dubm guy hadn’t made it... see also   Emergency,  Safety  &  Survivor  Sections Don’t Drink And Climb - the initial pictures Bird on a Wire (past tense) Box Fill Overload Cutting Trees Above Powerlines Deadneck Repairs electricAL safety Electrician’s New Plug How To Conduct Electricity How To Fix Electrical Poles Lineman Support OCD Electrician Power-Full Logging Truck Redneck Pole Support Short On Electricity Wireless Technology   Snowbound Train Not Without A Washer Why Men Shouldn't Write Advice Columns Washing Machine Cat Ruined Bacon Kellogg's Fire Tip Discount Staff Meeting Prince Bag Ice Cream Clouds Sun Dial Fail Rolling Stop Ghetto Hammock Cooking For Guys Walkies Ultimate Border Control Protection Note Flasher Lineup For Dinner Do Nothing Day Horn Blower

23-Jan-2020