# Groundie killed today



## Griffbm3 (Oct 22, 2007)

Groundie killed today in Connecticut, it has been posted on courant.com, the Hartford Courant's website, and he has been identified. He was electrocuted while performing ground work as the boom may have been contacting the lines, and he may have contacted the truck. Very sad, please stay safe...

Jason


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## BostonBull (Oct 22, 2007)

Thats awful! Have to make sure the ground guys are WELL aware of the power of electricity!

EHAP trainng should be MANDATORY for all employees in every industry.


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## Bigus Termitius (Oct 22, 2007)

Rats! 

I hope he was at least trained properly as to the potential danger. Of course, especially with a new guy, I can see force of habit having him lean up against the truck talking while the trimmer is trimming. At first I thought maybe he was busy at the chipper, but the article says that he was in front of the truck. Not that that means anything, per se. Maybe he went after a limb that had fallen on the rack?? Getting in or out/ on or off the truck?? Hard to say, but I'd like to know more.

I printed out the article. I know what this week's safety meeting is going to be about.




> EAST HADDAM - Police have identified a man killed while cutting tree limbs Monday morning as Peter Sokolovsky, 36, of Brooklyn, Ct.
> 
> State police said Sokolovsky was working on the ground in front of a bucket truck when the boom, or lift, either came in contact with or in close proximity to live power lines. An electrical surge traveled from the power lines to the truck to the victim.
> 
> Sokolovsky was working for ABC Tree Services as part of a five-man, two-truck crew hired by CL&P to trim trees along North Moodus Road, police said. They are still investigating his death.



Here is a link to the TV news story:

http://www.wfsb.com/news/14395270/detail.html


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## Griffbm3 (Oct 22, 2007)

*Without saying too much...*

I can comfortably say that this was not a case of someone leaning on the front of a truck while the trimmer was working. It was much more tragic than that, but I will wait for the proper people to sort out all of the info before it comes to discussion...

Jason


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## Bigus Termitius (Oct 22, 2007)

Griffbm3 said:


> I can comfortably say that this was not a case of someone leaning on the front of a truck while the trimmer was working. It was much more tragic than that, but I will wait for the proper people to sort out all of the info before it comes to discussion...
> 
> Jason



Well that is good to know, I hope you're right and that info is made available in due time. I see that you are in Conn. Are you relatively close to the situation? Will you let us know how this pans out? 

For now I'm content to pray for the family, friends, and coworkers. And to bring this up with my crew in the morning.

I'd also like to know if there will be a way to help the family out with some sort of contribution.


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## Griffbm3 (Oct 22, 2007)

*I will keep an eye on it*

Close to the situation, yes. I will try to find out more about his family and any help that can be made for them. I will however wait for the newspaper due to my "closeness" to the current situation/investigation. This was a multi state contract tree company working for the local power company. When it comes out around here locally, I will update this post.

My prayers are with his family, 36 years old, sounds too familiar.

Jason


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## tree md (Oct 22, 2007)

Here's the thing, once the electricity gets to the truck it's looking for a way out... A ground.... Where that comes out is anybody's guess. Could be the guy holding the joystick to the boom truck or the closest groundie... it could come out anywhere... Crapshoot. Electricity will often go right through a climber and hit someone on the ground. Unfortunately, I have been close to one of these situations as well. 

God's love to the family.


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## Bigus Termitius (Oct 22, 2007)

Griffbm3 said:


> Close to the situation, yes. I will try to find out more about his family and any help that can be made for them. I will however wait for the newspaper due to my "closeness" to the current situation/investigation. This was a multi state contract tree company working for the local power company. When it comes out around here locally, I will update this post.
> 
> My prayers are with his family, 36 years old, sounds too familiar.
> 
> Jason



Thanks Jason. 

Newspapers tend to mess things up too, so it will be good to have the truth if the papers make a mistake. Right now, the various sources can't even agree on his age.

Too familiar and it hits too close to home no matter where you live, especially when you spend most of your day around the lines.


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## hornett22 (Oct 23, 2007)

*happened in the next town over from me.*

to bad.my heart goes out to his fellow co workers and family.


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## Mitchell (Oct 23, 2007)

*prayers for the family*

I hope his company and or the state wcb will take care of his family. 
I may be terribly ignorant concerning these matters however, it seems to me that the truck could be grounded out with a master ground with out to much trouble?


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## hornett22 (Oct 23, 2007)

*here is the video broadcast on local news*

http://www.wfsb.com/video/14398532/index.html

i was just working in this town sunday.pretty crazy.


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## Sprig (Oct 23, 2007)

I skirted this post for a bit because I just knew, knew it shouldn't have happened and I'd cry, well  
Prayers to the surviving family and much sadness on their great loss 

With All Respect,

Serge


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## Ekka (Oct 23, 2007)

What a pity, insulated booms should be mandatory!


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## Griffbm3 (Oct 23, 2007)

*Now I can post the other stuff*

There is a better article outlining some of the facts of the case, this is the forward to the article.
http://www.courant.com/news/custom/...artoct23,0,5912352.story?coll=hc_tab01_layout

It does mention the fact that he has 2 VERY young children and had only been working for about 2 weeks for the company.

The truck had a insulated stick so I don't know how it happened. He touched the corner of the truck as he rounded the corner, and it arced through him. He was dead on scene. The other details are in the article.

Jason


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## Dadatwins (Oct 23, 2007)

Since the worker in the bucket was insulated from the electric I can assume the lower boom was not insulated and allowed the power to ground. The upper boom insulation held and the worker in the air was fine. Have seen this on booms that are not maintained properly. Sawdust and leaves build up in the boom from not being cleaned and create a path to ground. The boom may have a clean outward appearance with the fiberglass insulation intact, but the leaves, sawdust and debris inside the boom cause the problem. Add some dampness and there is a disaster. My condolances to the family and co-workers.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Oct 23, 2007)

Dadatwins said:


> My condolances to the family and co-workers.



So true, I cannot imagine being the bucketman there.

There was one like that here 5-6 years ago. The guy in the bucket was bumping secondary so much he wore the weather coating off. New, "undocumented" Slavic groundman touched the truck and was gone.

Everyone was shocked that the company is still operating.


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## Fast Freddy (Oct 23, 2007)

????-i hate hearing about stuff like this. So sad.


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## 2FatGuys (Oct 23, 2007)

It's always sad when the unexpected happens. My prayers go out to the family, as well as the coworkers.


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## polexie (Oct 23, 2007)

Very sad news!! Best redgards to family, co-workers and friends!!!


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## daveyclimber (Oct 23, 2007)

Sad indeed. Just because an aerial lift is insulated it may not protect those on the ground and even those in the basket if certain conditions exist as mentioned earlier. Electricity radiates as it is be "grounded" depending on the KV it may radiate several feet and has not been fully scientifically documented on the who where and hows, from my readings anyway. It is truely amazing that more individuals don't die or there aren't more related injuries. Those that work around power for a living for any long term generally realize that anythng can happen for no forseen reason. I am sure this individual has had some limited education on electrical safety, perhaps it was his mistake or a fault of the structure. Any number of things could have been in play here and it will be very valuable lesson to those here. i worked around power fulltime for over 7 years in the worst situations. Though I tried to be as safe as possible I was still tickled several times by just doing the work. No matter how safe you try to be it sometimes isn't enough. When I worked for Davey Tree we recieved the bottom of the barrel equipment to do a insane job with bunk gear. After working there for a few years bought my own safe good gear just to get a write up and admonishment though I was one of the few who would do the nutty jobs. After about 6 years there I finally got a port a wrap. This lack of proper equipment is the number one killer of clearance trimmers not safety. Nobody wants to die but nobody wants to lose their job over ?????ing to management about getting line drops and special gear.


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## Urbicide (Oct 23, 2007)

ABC Trees Services? White trucks and chippers? A year ago this past summer I used to see around 6 to 8 trucks doing clearance work for Duke Energy while on my way to and from my woodlot. They had a fatality when a bucket truck toppled over due to the out riggers not being properly extended. Oh, by the way, the crews were 100% Mexican To me it seems that ABC Tree may be up to something with it's hiring practices My condolences to the deceased and his family. When I was an electrical apprentice I had thought about becoming a lineman. After seeing a safety demonstration of the power contained in those overhead lines and the potential destruction of the human body I said "na".


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## clearance (Oct 24, 2007)

Ekka said:


> What a pity, insulated booms should be mandatory!



The upper boom is insulated, the lower boom never is, on any truck I have ever seen or ran. The knuckle is not insulated, only part of the upper stick is.


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## hornett22 (Oct 24, 2007)

*check out their website.*



Urbicide said:


> ABC Trees Services? White trucks and chippers? A year ago this past summer I used to see around 6 to 8 trucks doing clearance work for Duke Energy while on my way to and from my woodlot. They had a fatality when a bucket truck toppled over due to the out riggers not being properly extended. Oh, by the way, the crews were 100% Mexican To me it seems that ABC Tree may be up to something with it's hiring practices My condolences to the deceased and his family. When I was an electrical apprentice I had thought about becoming a lineman. After seeing a safety demonstration of the power contained in those overhead lines and the potential destruction of the human body I said "na".



they are owned by women of mexican decent.not that old either,pretty impressive.the are big,seem to take care of their equipment.they do seem to have a lot of accidents though.


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## jmcguiretree (Oct 26, 2007)

Clearance- All lower booms of the trucks at my co are insulated.In the middle of the lower boom there is a short section that connects the two steel portions together which makes them insulated. Check it out.


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## Dadatwins (Oct 26, 2007)

jmcguiretree said:


> Clearance- All lower booms of the trucks at my co are insulated.In the middle of the lower boom there is a short section that connects the two steel portions together which makes them insulated. Check it out.



This is true on most tree bucket trucks, top boom insulates to operator, bottom insulates the ground workers. The idea is that if the knuckle contacts the wire the current will not flow up or down. Unfortunately sometimes the truck is not properly maintained with grease and chip buildup inside the boom, or not grounded properly with wooden blocks under the riggers etc. that the truck gets juiced.


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## ropensaddle (Oct 26, 2007)

clearance said:


> The upper boom is insulated, the lower boom never is, on any truck I have ever seen or ran. The knuckle is not insulated, only part of the upper stick is.


Mine is and most newer units have
a lower insert to insulate but we grounded our trucks by hammering
in a tee shaped ground rod and using a hot line jumper this gives
extra protection but is still not foolproof! Condolences to all concerned
and to the one posting about bunk equipment so true I asked for a 
simple buck strap at the last large outfit I worked for, manager laughs
and did not know what I meant, finally he says you mean a chicken strap?
I said call it what you want, I would rather be a live chicken than a dead
jack ass. It is funny how the big corporations spend as little as they can
on safe equipment I have been put in some chit and now own my equipment
it is the best I could afford!


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## ropensaddle (Oct 26, 2007)

Dadatwins said:


> This is true on most tree bucket trucks, top boom insulates to operator, bottom insulates the ground workers. The idea is that if the knuckle contacts the wire the current will not flow up or down. Unfortunately sometimes the truck is not properly maintained with grease and chip buildup inside the boom, or not grounded properly with wooden blocks under the riggers etc. that the truck gets juiced.



Having performed many Hypot tests on booms cleaning them
inspecting them at least weekly is a good idea we had a truck
fail after being power washed and was due to birds nesting
in the insert area! This nest was built over one weekend!!


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## alpha115 (Nov 3, 2007)

Trying to obtain the news cast to allow me to use it as an educational tool. Can or has anybody ever managed to get one of these newscasts and save it on there computer? 

Help would be appreciated


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## Sassafras (Nov 3, 2007)

Prayers to the family!! That is sad.

Our bucket has the isolation sleeve you are talking about. But be careful The 75ft reach elevators put the isolation sleeve over most lines. Although we do not specifically do line clearance we work around them from time to time.
Once while reaching full extension ( i warned my ground guys to get away from the truck knowing what could happen) over the line elevator up pole sawwing got the boom moving enough to contact the line, as quickly as i could react to move away four small fires had occured at the outriggger pads and one of the guys (about 20 to 25ft away said he felt static, arm hair standing up and such) no damage no injury Lesson learned.


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## Canyonbc (Nov 4, 2007)

Prayers to the family, friends and god bless be safe.


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## monkeywood (Nov 4, 2007)

*Does anyone do this?*

Fire companys that operate airel devices will jump on and jump off of the truck. That way (in theory i guess) they don't complete the circuit. The truck will also have a platform for the pump operator to stand on. I don't understand enough about electricity or boom trucks to know if this is a viable practice. Does anyone employ this technique?


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## jmcguiretree (Nov 8, 2007)

We are taught to either shuffle your feet closely together as you aproach the truck or to leap from foot to foot keeping only on foot on the ground at a time to avoid getting whacked with step voltage.


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## clearance (Nov 8, 2007)

Dadatwins said:


> or not grounded properly with wooden blocks under the riggers etc. that the truck gets juiced.



Could you please explain this?


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## Polar Bear 4/31 (Nov 10, 2007)

Don"t trust a driven ground rod to save you! AB Chance co. has a training video, that shows driven ground rods being launched out of the ground during periods of high fault current. Grounding the truck is ONLY to trip the circut as quickly as possible. Any work within the primary area will also require disabling the recloser on the circut.
If the boom is in the primary area, STAY OFF the truck! If you are on the truck STAY ON the truck, this will put you in an equipotential zone if the truck becomes energized. This means that if the truck becomes energized, you will be at the same potential so there will be no current flow though you. This is the same princible that allows crews to barehand transmission.


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## Dadatwins (Nov 10, 2007)

clearance said:


> Could you please explain this?



I would say it depends on the companies policy for working around the lines. I was taught that the outriggers should be on wooden blocks and the truck should be grounded to a rod or pole stake in the ground. This is not a guarantee, other factors including the boom fiberglass integrity, bucket liner, and cleanliness all factors. Not sure if there are an actual standard for setting up a bucket truck around wires, will need a lineman for that question.


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## Polar Bear 4/31 (Nov 10, 2007)

1926.955(a)(6)(i)

Unless using suitable protective equipment for the voltage involved, employees standing on the ground shall avoid contacting equipment or machinery working adjacent to energized lines or equipment.

1926.955(a)(6)(ii)

Lifting equipment shall be bonded to an effective ground or it shall be considered energized and barricaded when utilized near energized equipment or lines.

A driven ground rod is standard for most utilities, but is not effective in real life. The best ground will be the system neutral, since it goes back to the station grid.


Some utilities require placing an insulated rubber mat and a pair of rubber gloves at the steps of the truck for use in the event of an emergency. Another method is to place a condutive mat, that is bonded to the truck, between the barrier and the truck so someone can touch the truck while in the primary area.
One other thing, don't use a bucket without a lower boom insert in the primary area.

Remember the ground is just to trip the circut as quickly as possible.


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## Polar Bear 4/31 (Nov 10, 2007)

BTW I am a lineman, if you have questions I WILL get you the answer.


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## Canyonbc (Nov 11, 2007)

I give any lineman, line clearing crew anything to work in trees, then next to power...

Major Props...

God Bless the family.


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## fedots (Dec 8, 2007)

*Warning !!!!!*

This unit (as I am told) was a 60/70 elevator truck. it is a 60 foot boom with a 10 foot elevator at the base. YES it is insulated at the upper and lower boom. BUT lower boom can raise up 10 more feet putting lower boom insulator ABOVE the primary wires energising the truck if you put boom in wires. PLEASE pass the word it is an extra danger everybody most pay attention too!!!!!!!!!


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