'This is Serious Stuff That Kills First Responders'

Post from Haddam Volunteer Fire Company:

On Nov. 16, Warren Rogers, field safety supervisor for Eversource Energy, spoke to about 50 members of Haddam, Durham and Killingworth Volunteer Fire Companies about electrical hazards and safety. Firefighters frequently respond to motor vehicle accidents involving car vs. utility pole situations, pole fires and electrical fires in homes.

“The best conductor of electricity is water and since we’re about 80 percent water, it loves you and if you’re in it’s path, it’s going to want to take you,” Rogers said.

Rogers first explained how energy is transferred from a electrical substation to primary and secondary lines and to a home. If a fire occurs near a substation, Roger warned the firefighters to set up a perimeter at least a 1/4 mile away. If the problem occurs near a primary or secondary line, which run across the top of most utility poles, he advised the firefighters to stay at least two pole lengths back and make sure no traffic or pedestrians get near the lines. Contact with a primary line, which carries 4,800 to 23,000 volts of electricity, can kill a person immediately.

“This is serious stuff. This is the stuff that kills first responders. Fear the lines!” Warren warned, holding a sample of a utility line.

If a firefighter is first on scene to a car vs. pole accident, and wires are snapped, whipping or dangling, Warren says there is a very good possibility that the vehicle’s body, chassis, tires and surrounding ground could be energized. First responders should call the utility company, and if a passenger is involved, report the incident to the utility company as a Priority One.

“The first thing you want to do is yell out to the driver and his passengers, ‘Stay in the vehicle! Don’t touch the handle!’” In a life or death situation, a driver could exit his vehicle by hopping from the vehicle to the pavement and shuffle his feet forward until he’s in a safe area. “What you never want to do is touch the vehicle and ground at the same time. The electricity can go right through you,” Warren said. “It’s always safer to stay in the vehicle until the utility company arrives and deems it safe to exit.”

He also stressed the importance of never using an aluminum ladder within 10 feet of a secondary line. Electricity can arc and energize the ladder, and the firefighter, or homeowner. A downed primary or secondary line also can charge any trees, guard rails and chain linked fence near a home or accident scene.

“Teach your family. Teach everyone you know. If you see a downed wire, call 911,” Warren said.