# Crane Electrocution-LAKELAND, FL



## TheTreeSpyder (Jan 18, 2003)

LAKELAND -- A report on the accident that killed Lakeland Electric worker Marc Moore on Aug. 26 has found numerous failures to follow standard safety rules by a crew installing a utility pole.

Part of a crane, most likely the winch cable weight, hit a live electric line, and between 450 and 560 volts arced to the wet ground where Moore and other workers were standing.

"The employees interviewed all understand that these rules were not followed," the report said. "Some were aware of the rules before the incident; others were not . . .

"They apparently shared a common (erroneous) belief that the rubber gloves they were wearing would protect them from injury if the crane contacted the energized conductors. The experienced employees displayed a cavalier attitude regarding setting a pole in proximity to energized conductors."

Moore, 31, a special-equipment operator, was working with a four-man crew setting a 1,470pound, 40-foot utility pole in a pre-dug hole near an existing 35foot pole in the rear of Citrus Woods Mobile Home Park, 1610 Reynolds Road.

"I was walking toward the truck when I heard someone yell `stop.' I turned and saw a fire like I have never seen before," said Doyle, Moore's cousin. "Fire was coming off the fence and the rig, and the cable TV wires were smoking . . ."

Moore was killed when he tried to run away from being shocked, but tripped over the legs attached to the crane to keep it stable and fell to the wet, energized ground. Although the sky was sunny, the ground was wet from rain earlier in the day.

Four other workers felt shocks in their feet and were taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for observation.

The report determined that the pole crew disregarded safety policies and a warning from a fellow worker. The deficiencies cited include:


Lack of a job briefing prior to doing the job to discuss what was supposed to take place. Both national and Lakeland Electric policy calls for such a meeting.


Ignoring a Lakeland Electric policy dictating that a crew member is supposed to stand away from the crane with a better angle to see that the crane doesn't hit any wiring. This crew member is supposed to direct the crane operator with hand signals. That didn't happen.


The crane wasn't grounded, but that is not required by Lakeland Electric or national policy.


The live line wasn't covered with the temporary insulation, and some parts of it were covered with a material not intended to be used for the job. One employee told investigators it was more dangerous to cover a live wire with insulation than it was to work near a live wire.


Willy Pinkston, a lineman, warned the pole-setting crew that the crane should be moved because it was in a position where it couldn't clear the primary electrical line, but the crew didn't listen.

Eddy Johnson, an operations supervisor, told investigators that the failure to move the crane farther from the live wire "was stupidity."


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## ORclimber (Jan 18, 2003)

That sucks. When I worked for Asplundh we were taught that a downed power line(7.2kv) could energize saturated ground as far as 11' from the point of contact.


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## WRW (Jan 18, 2003)

At work I've seen a listing of how many millivolts can kill...that's right, millivolts.
I've also been told that if you find yourself in that position to only allow one leg to touch the ground at a time and don't touch anything on the way out of the area.


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## ORclimber (Jan 18, 2003)

1/10th of an amp can kill.


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## WRW (Jan 18, 2003)

Thank you. I had it backwards. 100 milliamps.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Jan 19, 2003)

Man you beat me to it, I was gonna say "It aint the volts that kill ya, it's the amps."

Amperage is flow rate, where Voltage is pressure.

Like 20GPM at 20PSI and 100 gpm at 20PSI


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