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Man electrocuted this morning


Rye Miles #13621

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Could this be why my power went off around 3;30-4:00 am?  I don't know how long but I think it was a short time. This sub-station is about 4-5 miles from where I live. Sorry about the 15 second commercial!

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/08/17/cleveland-ems-victim-fatal-electrocution-found-wires-30-feet-air/

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 I've seen the results from a 72,000 volt "accident" first hand. Wasn't an accident though, some idiot with bolt cutters decided it'd be a good idea to steal copper wire at a sub-station...it wasn't. The upper half of him ended up looking like WAY over done ribs on a grill, pretty gruesome, never got that image out of my head.

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That's sort of amazing. The TV news usually jumps right out there and tells you what they think happened. But they're not saying that the guy was apparently trying to steal copper and fried himself. You suppose they are afraid that his next of kin would sue?

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The trend of copper theft in this country is shocking. Law enforcement needs more power in this regard. The media likes to put a negative spin on these cases claiming unemployment and hard times but the fact of the matter is there are positively more open jobs available but the unemployed populace is resistant in seeking these abundant jobs. These people would rather be a drain in society. 
 

 

Punny…

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6 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

The trend of copper theft in this country is shocking. Law enforcement needs more power in this regard. The media likes to put a negative spin on these cases claiming unemployment and hard times but the fact of the matter is there are positively more open jobs available but the unemployed populace is resistant in seeking these abundant jobs. These people would rather be a drain in society. 
 

 

Punny…

Bingo!!

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6 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

The trend of copper theft in this country is shocking. Law enforcement needs more power in this regard. The media likes to put a negative spin on these cases claiming unemployment and hard times but the fact of the matter is there are positively more open jobs available but the unemployed populace is resistant in seeking these abundant jobs. These people would rather be a drain in society. 
 

 

Punny…

 

This isn't a recent trend at all. I started in the electrical trade in '78 and people were stealing wire, plumbing pipe, AC tubing and the like then. I've been on jobsites large and small, it happens on all of them. I've actually been on jobs working and thieves got caught in the act while people were working. I won't say what happened to the thieves except to say that it was dealt with on the jobsite. The theft got so bad at one point that we could not install the exterior service conductors or ground wiring until a couple of days before final inspection.

 

Thieves get a buck or so per pound of clean copper but it costs big bucks to replace that copper wire with wire and labor costs as high as they are.

 

In Florida, there are laws for the recyclers are supposed to abide by...photo id, fingerprints, etc...doesn't help as I've never heard of aggressive enforcement. Ever once in a while, I'll hear about an arrest but not often. It's the same thing with the catalytic converters, thieves will steal anything that they think will pay them money.

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Once, we were shown a film, in a meeting, of the results of someone coming into one of our substations, to steal copper wire. 

They had no gloves on and tried to use metal pliers to cut the copper wire. 

In our substations, the voltage is either 138,000 volts, or 345,000 volts, and the copper cable is very large, thus can carry a lot of amps. 

Where the men's arms were, were now just ashes. 

- Moral of the story: thou shall not steal (God)...(especially copper ENERGIZED cable, in a substation, or on a pole). 

The voltages on a pole are either 7.2 kv, or 14.4 kv, phase to ground, depending on the size of the transformers in the substation. In contrast your voltage in your home outlets is around 115 to 130 volts, phase to ground, depending on how far away you are from the substation, or a voltage regulator, or a capacitor.

My son works for AT&T, and he told me they are always trying to steal fiber-optic cable, thinking it is copper. They fall off the pole, get hurt, have broken bones, all for fiber-optic cable which isn't worth anything. 

Stupid is, as stupid does.

Isn't it much better, and safer, to study in school, get a job, earn a living, and not die for a piece of metal, or get injured for worthless fiber-optic cable? 

The parents should go to jail, with their thieving children, for not being real, involved, parents. Stupidity must be inherited. 

 

 

 

 

 

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51 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

The trend of copper theft in this country is shocking. Law enforcement needs more power in this regard. The media likes to put a negative spin on these cases claiming unemployment and hard times but the fact of the matter is there are positively more open jobs available but the unemployed populace is resistant in seeking these abundant jobs. These people would rather be a drain in society. 
 

 

Punny…

They're lacking the capacity. Can't induct them to do much. 

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1 hour ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

This isn't a recent trend at all. I started in the electrical trade in '78 and people were stealing wire, plumbing pipe, AC tubing and the like then. I've been on jobsites large and small, it happens on all of them. I've actually been on jobs working and thieves got caught in the act while people were working. I won't say what happened to the thieves except to say that it was dealt with on the jobsite. The theft got so bad at one point that we could not install the exterior service conductors or ground wiring until a couple of days before final inspection.

 

Thieves get a buck or so per pound of clean copper but it costs big bucks to replace that copper wire with wire and labor costs as high as they are.

 

In Florida, there are laws for the recyclers are supposed to abide by...photo id, fingerprints, etc...doesn't help as I've never heard of aggressive enforcement. Ever once in a while, I'll hear about an arrest but not often. It's the same thing with the catalytic converters, thieves will steal anything that they think will pay them money.

You’re right, they’ve been breaking into abandon houses and some houses for sale too for years!!

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2 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Trying to figure out whether they should say “allegedly”

That’s a word that really confuses them.

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Just a week ago we had a perp being chased by police. He climbed over a sub station fence and got zapped. He was still alive when they reported it. 

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1 hour ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

This isn't a recent trend at all. I started in the electrical trade in '78 and people were stealing wire, plumbing pipe, AC tubing and the like then. I've been on jobsites large and small, it happens on all of them. I've actually been on jobs working and thieves got caught in the act while people were working. I won't say what happened to the thieves except to say that it was dealt with on the jobsite. The theft got so bad at one point that we could not install the exterior service conductors or ground wiring until a couple of days before final inspection.

 

Thieves get a buck or so per pound of clean copper but it costs big bucks to replace that copper wire with wire and labor costs as high as they are.

 

In Florida, there are laws for the recyclers are supposed to abide by...photo id, fingerprints, etc...doesn't help as I've never heard of aggressive enforcement. Ever once in a while, I'll hear about an arrest but not often. It's the same thing with the catalytic converters, thieves will steal anything that they think will pay them money.

Uh…it was half serious, half humor. Puns. 

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18 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Uh…it was half serious, half humor. Puns. 

Duh....I just got what you were sayin'...........:lol:

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Just now, Patagonia Pete said:

Pretty shocking ... 

Positively electrifying!  A while back, someone cut off / stole the gas pipe to a furnace and blew up a house, damaged its neighbors.  Law enforcement can't be everywhere esp these days.

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1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

You’re right, they’ve been breaking into abandon houses and some houses for sale too for years!!

My sister in law used to be in real estate. She always used to tell the wife and I about all the houses she and fellow employees would go to show that had the copper pipe and even wiring gutted in the house . She said anything that was unoccupied and of the age to have copper pipe was at risk . I guess there’s a upside to pvc and pex 

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2 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Uh…it was half serious, half humor. Puns. 

 

I figured that. I also figure that after being in the trade you were in for so long, you know all about people stealing metal for scrap.;)

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4 hours ago, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

Man electrocuted this morning

 

   ..... I bet it hurt a bit .....   :o

 

1 hour ago, bgavin said:

Not for long.

 

I've seen stickers installed on electrical panels that says;

 

WARNING:

This electrical equipment is energized.

It can kill you and hurt the whole time you are dying.

 

In fact, there is a panel at the range that has that sticker on it. I'll get a pic next time I'm there.

 

I wish the stickers would have been around before I retired, I'd have stuck them on all panels.

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12 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

I figured that. I also figure that after being in the trade you were in for so long, you know all about people stealing metal for scrap.;)

Yep…on the new line I was working before retiring copper theft was nearly a nightly occurrence. Mostly copper cabling and grounds on the tracks and signaling that are easy (edit)  to get to at ground level. I kept telling everyone that would listen that they need to grease the cabling. Doing that reduces a lot of theft. No one would do it because it wasn’t in the contract and the equipment hadn’t been turned over to us yet. I finally gave up. I worked on rail cars, not the track. 
 

We put heavy grease on all our cabling in the past and theft was minimized. 
 

We used to actually have a transit police force that actually did their jobs. They would take sample bits of copper and cabling to Recyclers and tell them “If any examples of these cables or parts show up call us. Oh, and if you buy them you will be charged with receiving stolen goods”. THAT killed copper theft, but now the transit division cops don’t do a thing. Why? “Defund the police”. And I don’t blame ‘em. 

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Darwin Awards are given regularly to these clods  who attempt copper theft from high voltage environments.
No great loss. (the thief)
Electricity is a wonderful tool for chlorinating the gene pool.

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19 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 I've seen the results from a 72,000 volt "accident" first hand. Wasn't an accident though, some idiot with bolt cutters decided it'd be a good idea to steal copper wire at a sub-station...it wasn't. The upper half of him ended up looking like WAY over done ribs on a grill, pretty gruesome, never got that image out of my head.

Same.

Stupid soul climbed the chain link fence of a sub station with intent to toilet paper the place.

(Who in their right mind TPs a substation?)

Climbed up on an I-beam, hit a conductor over his right eyebrow.

Either he wasn't well grounded or it was low voltage: we stabilized him and got him to hospital with a pulse, but he didn't last long.

Like Cypress Sun, my memories of that event are unpleasant and likely will always be with me.

We pay a high price for safeguarding the public good.

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The best safety training that I have ever put together was images of injuries and deaths from unsafe practices. You tell a guy “make sure you follow lock out tag out procedures or someone could be hurt or killed” and they will politely listen to your message but usually pay little attention and may grasp half of what you’re saying.
Show them a photo or video of a dead guy and photos of what power can do to limbs and organs and it sends a definite message and they hear every darn thing you are saying at that point. 
I also institute and strongly enforce a “two man rule” for all hazardous jobs and I rarely assigned friends to work together on hazardous jobs without also assigning another coworker. You would think friends would watch out for each other but often that is not the case if mistakes are made. They will cover for one another. I like to mix things up so that complacency doesn’t become habit and goofballs don’t have “friends” covering for them. I would write people up or cone down on them hard for safety screw ups. 
No one has ever been severely injured or killed working for me and I am proud of that. Now, I have had guys cut themselves or injure themselves in minor ways, but no debilitating or deadly incidents. Thank God. 

 

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