Attended electrical safety program tonight

[Johnson]

A friend of mine from church has owned/operated an electrical safety program business for the past 17 years. He was an electrician and then lineman from late 70's to 1998. As a lineman, he helped the power company create some safety programs. He travels a large portion of the country in his van, giving presentation to schools, businesses, EMT's, fire departments, state fairs, etc...

I had never attended such an event but it was very informative. His setup has power poles and lines with like 7000 volts and he goes over everything from GFCI outlets, how power gets from the power company/substation/house. He creates some arcs and gives some really good advice on many electrical topics. Showed a mylar balloon and how it can fry when coming into contact with a power line. Advice on what to do if you are in an accident with a power line down, etc.. (stay in car!)

It's called Live Line Demo. I think he has a basic website you can find by googling the biz name. I won't post it here so I'm not tagged as a spammer.

If you ever have a chance, it's good info. Scared me enough that I think I'll just hire an electrician for anything beyond changing an outlet! This was one of his last presentations as he is selling the business to another electrician/lineman who will be taking over. I figured the GJ was a crowd who might appreciate something like this.

 

[loveall13]

Our local co-op does similar demonstrations, we have them stop by every couple of years to show our students how dangerous electricity can be.

 

[Mattlt]

Definitely worthwhile. I had similar training from a local power company when I was first starting out in the fire service. The guy had a contraption that would cook hot dogs to simulate burning flesh, including the smell.

 

[Dale1962]

seen them twice, very informative when I was on the farm bureau young farmers committee we put on a farm accident rescue seminar for the local fire departments to receive training and the live wire guys came. long day but very rewarding.

 

[ToddG]

I've seen the hot dog demo too. That tends to get attention...

 

[Honest Bob]

I remember the hot dog demo from elementary school!

 

[Big Bad Dad]

My company sent me to a Lock Out/Tag Out seminar once. I will never forget the video of the bucket truck that got crossed up with the high voltage primary wires between transformers. It was a big power company sized truck, and it burned it to the ground. Quickly! Watching the tires, out riggers, and fuel tank explode was especially impressionable!

 

[mp23]

I remember the hot dog demo from elementary school!

Yep, one of the few things I remember.

 

[rburke65]

I have seen many safety and lockout videos ..... almost said "films".... Showing my age! Have seen body parts that have been "cooked" from high voltage, with the skin splitting.....no pretty.

 

[b-body-bob]

When working as a truck tire jockey I came in to work one day to a bucket truck with melted tires caused by the operator swinging the bucket into some wires. I was told the bucket had someone in it who basically had is fingers and toes blown off when the current went looking for ground.

Similarly, I also saw a guy make a tiny exit hole in his elbow while poking around inside a computer monitor with a screwdriver. It doesn't take much.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Just weeks before I worked at Ford's Power House, they had a 13,200V reactor let loose. The reactor was the weak link in a troubled circuit, and the oil boiled instantaneously, blasted out the overflow through the safety glass, through a side window and down onto an employee's new Cobra that was parked under the window, which melted to it's tires in an unrecognizeable heap.

That wasn't even the most troubling area to work in, in a place I now consider the greatest work experience in my life.

 

[BudgetRacing]

I was working on a commercial construction site once when there was a bunch of yelling and screaming. A guy bursts out of the electrical room on fire and mostly burned over his whole body. Apparently he was pulling the main feed and the city switched the power on to the wrong building while he was holding the bare end of the line.

I tend to be more careful with live power now.

 

[Johnson]

Man, some of those stories are crazy. I've always heard about household current and it's ability to clamp your hand shut....but the big voltage stuff that instantly boils oil is just scary. It's like harnessing lightning.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Do a search on Youtube for 'arc flash' and you'll see all kinds of scary stuff.

Electrical safety classes tend to be kind of like the old Death on the Highway films they used to show in driver's education classes...lots of gnarly pictures of people who've been burned to a crisp from electrical contact, I sat through a three day course last fall. They do bring home the point that electricity is nothing to mess with if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[JimVonBaden]

http://www.livelinedemo.com/

Pretty cool stuff!