# Electrocution of trimmer



## pdqdl (May 9, 2008)

I stumbled across this story today. Another fatality, an apparent error by a trimmer, the facts are poorly detailed in the article. Whatever happened, it certainly wasn't the power line's fault he made contact. 

Five kids, he sounded like a good guy that met with an untimely and particularly savage end: on a ladder, even the grass below the ladder caught on fire.

I don't know anything more than is included in the article. Some odd details reported in the story, but what can you expect from a journalist?

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080508/NEWS/805080398/1661


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## lxt (May 9, 2008)

Landscaping a dangerous job?.........PLEASE!!! what in the :censored: was a guy trimming trees around powerlines doing standing on an aluminum ladder? If he had any experience at all??? that day stupidity overruled it!!

My condolences to his family!!


Warning: Grasscutters, landscapers, roofers & other I can do anything types... LEAVE TREE TRIMMING TO PROFESSIONALS & STAY ALIVE!!!!


whats bizarre about this is yesterday I go put in a bid & the guy had an aluminum ladder against the tree he wanted removed not more than 15ft away a 23kv line with 4kv underbuild.....anything to save a buck!!

forgive me if I seem harsh, but this didnt have to happen & now 5 kids dont have a Dad....right before Mothersday to boot. very sad!!


LXT.............


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## BlueRidgeMark (May 9, 2008)

> Relatives said Lykins was a careful and knowledgeable worker




Uh, and he was using an aluminum ladder near lines that potent? :jawdrop: 

A _ladder_?


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## swen vandermeer (Jun 5, 2008)

that guy had no right working around live powerlines only certified utility arborists are allowed to work near live conductors


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## ropensaddle (Jun 5, 2008)

swen vandermeer said:


> that guy had no right working around live powerlines only certified utility arborists are allowed to work near live conductors



No the word is qualified line clearance tree trimmers! I have
trimmed them and supervised men trimming them for over two decades
and am not certified but most definitely qualified.


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## Wirenut2266 (Jun 20, 2008)

*Come on now......*

Is there really a Certified Utility arborist????? If so, not here in the states!!! Guys dead, give him some respect. You have no clue to what happened, not cool to rip a deceast person!!!!! Do you really think he's dead only because of aluminum ladder? If that is what you think, I'll educate you on electrical theory......:censored: Idiots!


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## pdqdl (Jun 20, 2008)

Yes, there is. International Society of Arboriculture maintains a certification category of ISA Certified Arborist/ Utility Specialist. I have no doubt that the various electrical utility unions also have other certifications of equal or better recognition and training.

You should show a little more respect on this forum than pseudo-swearing at folks. It's not nice, and it certainly does not generate any respect for your comments. While I have no doubt that you are good at your job, you should not assume that others don't know their job just as well.

All the comments I have seen in this thread seem sensible, and it is certainly true that no aluminum ladders are to be used while doing line clearance work, especially by unqualified workers. 

_Tell me which comment here deprecates the poor dead fellow ?_ It's just that it is all too common for some ignorant, but well intentioned person to go and kill themselves doing tree work when they shouldn't have even tried. I personally am alive today, not because I am smart, welll trained, or careful. Just lucky, and I have lived long enough to know better in a large number of situations. Some folks just don't get that lucky, hence the comments displayed in this thread.

I don't know the applicable OSHA or ANSI standard, but I would bet you the value of your job that you can't find any rule in either of those two organizations that suggest it is ok to use a conductive ladder while working on or around high voltage lines. 

...So much for your comments on idiots and teaching us about electrical theory....


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## clearance (Jun 20, 2008)

swen vandermeer said:


> that guy had no right working around live powerlines only certified utility arborists are allowed to work near live conductors



Yep, thats right, Hi swen, I am a c.u.a., sad to meet another guy who knows thats from B.C. like this but hi. What an unfortunate deal, the guy is gone, no bad words should be said about him. But for those alive, do not work anywhere near high voltage powerlines, and I mean it. Here in B.C. you have to be a c.u.a., or an apprentice working under a c.u.a.s supervision.

As far as the ISA goes, and thier utility specialist gig, it doesn't let you work around powerlines here. But, funnily, or sadly ISA utility specialists working for the utility here get to supervise c.u.a.s, and tell them what to do and how to work. Untill they were correctd by superiors, they advocated the use of aluminum pike poles to push over trees beside the lines, among other brilliant things, that I won't get into here. So, for some, the ISA b.s goes right to thier pointy heads. The utilty supervisors who are c.u.a.s, lineman, or have common sense along with thier ISA utility cert. have my respect, the others......./Jim


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## Wirenut2266 (Jun 20, 2008)

Sad to say: Here in Minnesota there is no maintenance for trees/vegatation on or near power lines. Only transmission lines, thats it. Only time they get trimmed is when the lines are entangled or just tore down, sad.....Even then, it is done by electrical lineman, just hacking stuff out of the way, not pretty. seen a few friends get cooked, and I do mean cooked, nothing but bones left, so it strikes a nerve when I read/hear of a death involving electricty when we have no clue if it was an error on his part, or faulty equipment. If other states do have a certification standard, that is great. Remember, voltage jumps apox. 1" per 1000 volts, so you don't even have to touch it, to by the farm.....Be safe! Bruce.....Didn't try to come off like a hard ass...


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## ropensaddle (Jun 21, 2008)

Wirenut2266 said:


> Sad to say: Here in Minnesota there is no maintenance for trees/vegatation on or near power lines. Only transmission lines, thats it. Only time they get trimmed is when the lines are entangled or just tore down, sad.....Even then, it is done by electrical lineman, just hacking stuff out of the way, not pretty. seen a few friends get cooked, and I do mean cooked, nothing but bones left, so it strikes a nerve when I read/hear of a death involving electricty when we have no clue if it was an error on his part, or faulty equipment. If other states do have a certification standard, that is great. Remember, voltage jumps apox. 1" per 1000 volts, so you don't even have to touch it, to by the farm.....Be safe! Bruce.....Didn't try to come off like a hard ass...



Yeah I worked a 500 kv line in Mi fifteen foot minimum approach
on a hot day on the ground your dee rings buzz you when your sweaty
arms touch them. Wild voltage very wild voltage. I hate hearing of an
electrocution as it is very eazy to happen.


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## clearance (Jun 21, 2008)

ropensaddle said:


> Yeah I worked a 500 kv line in Mi fifteen foot minimum approach
> on a hot day on the ground your dee rings buzz you when your sweaty
> arms touch them. Wild voltage very wild voltage. I hate hearing of an
> electrocution as it is very eazy to happen.



The limit here on a 500 line is 20ft. even so you get zapped even farther away. Last tree I climbed around a 500 kv line was shocking me, a smaller cottonwood, so I busted it up with the Jamison real good first. My facescreen was sure tickling my nose when it touched it.

For those who don't know, big power like that jumps. Its called "flashover", you don't have to touch it, just get too close and your done. Kind of like a lightening bolt.


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## Sunrise Guy (Jun 21, 2008)

clearance said:


> The limit here on a 500 line is 20ft. even so you get zapped even farther away. Last tree I climbed around a 500 kv line was shocking me, a smaller cottonwood, so I busted it up with the Jamison real good first. My facescreen was sure tickling my nose when it touched it.
> 
> For those who don't know, big power like that jumps. Its called "flashover", you don't have to touch it, just get too close and your done. Kind of like a lightening bolt.



I was pruning a fairly large pecan. I was tied in and working out a medium-sized limb when it passed very close to high voltage lines at the top of a pole, above the residential, 220, feeds. As it passed the higher voltage lines, I got this metallic taste in my mouth and my hands vibrated on my fiberglass pole. I have a feeling that if I had been using a metal pole, I might have been in for a very bad day. I also learned what others had said, but I wasn't sure I believed: Just because you're using fiberglass, doesn't mean you're totally protected. There are dielectrically certified fiberglass poles out there, with solid centers to prevent moisture and conduction hazards, but if you go with the cheaper hollow ones, you had better be more careful. And, of course, if you're working around electricity at all, you had better be more careful.


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## ropensaddle (Jun 22, 2008)

clearance said:


> The limit here on a 500 line is 20ft. even so you get zapped even farther away. Last tree I climbed around a 500 kv line was shocking me, a smaller cottonwood, so I busted it up with the Jamison real good first. My facescreen was sure tickling my nose when it touched it.
> 
> For those who don't know, big power like that jumps. Its called "flashover", you don't have to touch it, just get too close and your done. Kind of like a lightening bolt.



We were 15 feet at the time in 88 never got shocked on that line
a lot of climb tie and cut. Some climb and make huge cuts fun type
work for sure. I watched helos working on lines that looked cool.
Yes it arcs and we had to check humidity and adjust our day to 
that as well I just call it wild voltage as it runs ungrounded as
most transmission lines do!


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## Bigus Termitius (Jun 22, 2008)

The way I read it...he knew better, or certainly should have with all the background. 

It's sad.

Seems like maybe he finally got frustrated with the lack of a proper clearance program and took it upon himself.

Who knows. Man this makes me sick. 

I've been introduced to areas in other states that obviously don't believe in vegetation management. These cheap skate outfits ought to be held accountable. There is no excuse.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Jun 22, 2008)

clearance said:


> For those who don't know, big power like that jumps. Its called "flashover", you don't have to touch it, just get too close and your done. Kind of like a lightening bolt.




On the money, Jim. Exactly like a lightning bolt. Same process, just less power than lightning.

Still plenty enough to put you 6 feet under.


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## ropensaddle (Jun 22, 2008)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> On the money, Jim. Exactly like a lightning bolt. Same process, just less power than lightning.
> 
> Still plenty enough to put you 6 feet under.



Yeah for sure that, we found holes in the ground near a sagging area
in this line and still wander what they were today. Looked like it may have
arced to the brush and ground and left holes Some of those 
holes also seemed burnt still don't know but that is where I felt voltage
on my saddle d's standing on ground! Wild voltage or static is high voltage
low amperage but still kills sometimes. We had a fellow working for
us that got 69 kv direct and lived we called him sparky and he has
burn marks on both arms where the lines hit him and silver dollar sized
holes in his feet. He barely survived this and he impressed me as I
am not sure I could have worked around them after that.


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