Lineman Dies Because Of Generator Being Hooked Up Wrong

[alicia-w]

Good grief, people. After all the press about this and someone STILL does it!! At least they're going to try to find the person.

from http://www.weartv.com

A lineman was killed just before 5-pm today in Flomaton, when he contacted a power line that was energized by an improperly hooked up generator.

The man was pronounced dead at Jay Hospital. His name has not been released but he was from South Carolina.

Authorities are now looking for the person responsible for the generator and say he will be charged.

Generators that are installed directly into a home's wiring system can send a powerful charge back into lines that workers believe are dead.

[drudd1]

What a waste of a life! Being a retired master electrician/electrical contractor, this is a subject very close to home. That is why I had started a thread last year about generator safety, and constantly drove that point home in my neighborhood after the canes last year. If the person that hooked up the generator had just taken the time to read the manual that came with it, this would never have happened. Truly sad.

[bfez1]

Very, sad indeed!

[gtalum]

The really sad part is that it's not that hard to do it right. All you have to do is throw your power main switch, and you're safely off the grid.

[beachbum_al]

I live nearby and it has been all over the news. It is sad because it is something that could had been avoided if the person had pay attention to the news. They have been broadcasting nonstop on t.v. and radio about the dangers of generators if not used correctly.

[Hurricaneman]

Thats the reason you xcheck all wires and stuff before using

[mike18xx]

Good grief, people. After all the press about this and someone STILL does it!!

This isn't 1962 anymore with two TV stations and one radio station; "all the press" about ANY topic that isn't annihilating thousands of people reaches perhaps 10% of the public on a good day.

Electricity is dangerous stuff, and everybody has to be careful with it, linemen as well as generator-installers.

[mike18xx]

It is sad because it is something that could had been avoided if the person had pay attention to the news.

If that's what it took to keep linemen alive, nobody would take the job.

There's another reason this particular lineman is dead: He didn't check for current before touching the line; he merely assumed it was safe because he'd been told it was off.

My father was an electrician, and he *never* touched a bloody damn thing on his work bench until he knew it was grounded and drained.

[jbgreig]

Forgive my ignorance, as I am not an expert, but....

First I'll say that I have a generator with a manual transfer switch (wired properly). That being said, I also have a $10 AC power detector(?) that tells me when a line is hot? Why do the power companies not provide this for their workers. Seems like the linemen should always expect any dead power lines to be hot, just as I expect any unloaded gun to be loaded. I guess I just don't understand...

And I DID consider hooking directly up to my panel (backfeeding), but I didn't want the liability. Why do people (linemen) continue to trust their lives to others when a simple check would avert most, if not all, of these horrible incidents?

Again I am reminded of the phrase that has been pounded into my head in all aspects of life:

Trust but verify

[Scorpion]

I highly doubt that every single person with a generator could listen to the news. The lineman should have checked it before making contact with it. Very sad though .

[Jim Cantore]

He should have watched Mark Sudduths thing on Generator safety

Not the news you like to hear it makes you think twice about getting a generator sometimes