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Permalink Reply by Oldman on March 24, 2008 at 7:10pm

Dry Chem? Not CO2?

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Permalink Reply by Chaz2771 on March 24, 2008 at 11:16pm

In the utility trade our motto is: "If it ain't grounded, It ain't dead". Best advice, don't go near it, stay back at least 15 feet. 1 milliamp and you're done. On a delta system the line can lay on the ground energized at primary voltage and wouldn't do a thing, it would look like it was dead.

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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on March 24, 2008 at 11:29pm

We seal the area and contact the power company. Once the power company secures the line, we put the fire out if any. No further action is allowed until the power is either cut and secured, or is rehung by the power company.

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Permalink Reply by Marc Hansen on March 26, 2008 at 8:19pm

all wires are considered live until power company gets there secures the power AND they move the "dead" line.
-traffic is stopped at easiest detour point on either side of the incident
-dont use CO2 when discharged a layer of ice builds up on nozzle and could create a pathway back to you
-make sure dry chemical is rated for electrical fires. All fires near wires are electrical until proven otherwise
-keep occupants/victims calm and in the car
-if any one must get out of vehicle make sure they jump from vehicle to pavement( the same way we are supposed to when aerials are operating near wires)

above all... if your not sure if its safe to do... dont do it. These arent our emergencies we are just the professionals that deal with them. Crew has to return with all fingers and toes that they left station with and the ability to freely move them

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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on March 26, 2008 at 9:31pm

I would go with dry chem also since CO2 is next to useless outside since the cloud of CO2 gas doesn't want to stay put. Just my 2 cents.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on March 26, 2008 at 10:24pm

I agree with everything that's been said here.

I would also add our procedure: if we are dispatched to arcing wires (tree branches, insulators) or pole fires, we maintain the pole spacing in each direction AND restrict or shut off traffic until the power company arrives on scene.

We've had a couple of cases where a burning pole has failed, causing the wires to swing across the road. Anyone standing in the area would have been fried by the live wires sweeping across.

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on March 27, 2008 at 10:11pm

-dont use CO2 when discharged a layer of ice builds up on nozzle and could create a pathway back to you

Thank you Mark, that was what I was looking for.

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