# Electrician Dies in Fall



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

Don't forget safety guys, going home is and always should be job #1.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

Switched said:


> Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
> 
> Don't forget safety guys, going home is and always should be job #1.



the question to ask is why he fell? safety harnesses are required for anything more than 6 feet above the ground! this guy fell 40 feet!
was he following safety procedures or safe work practices?


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

gnuuser said:


> the question to ask is why he fell? safety harnesses are required for anything more than 6 feet above the ground! this guy fell 40 feet!
> was he following safety procedures or safe work practices?


That's exactly my point, don't forget it...

We all do that stupid "It's only gonna take a second" or when you are at home doing something; "I don't need the safety glasses".

This sucks and was likely 125% unavoidable. He and others more than likely shrugged safety protocols. 

We can't continue to do that as tradesman, we deserve to go home just as much as the guys and gals at Google and Facebook.


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## 360max (Jun 10, 2011)

Switched said:


> Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
> 
> Don't forget safety guys, going home is and always should be job #1.


...same thoughts X2


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

gnuuser said:


> the question to ask is why he fell? safety harnesses are required for anything more than 6 feet above the ground! this guy fell 40 feet!
> was he following safety procedures or safe work practices?


Still not required for ascending an extension ladder.

Falls are still the #1 cause of electrician occupational deaths, and most are from a height of less than 8 feet.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

S**t...I fell 12' right thru a ceiling onto a slab coming up on 2 years 
ago and I'm still not fully recovered.

Our bodies are FRAGILE. I wish I'd been wearing a harness


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## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

Hate to hear these.

As Switched said, safety first, no shortcuts.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

lighterup said:


> S**t...I fell 12' right thru a ceiling onto a slab coming up on 2 years
> ago and I'm still not fully recovered.
> 
> Our bodies are FRAGILE. I wish I'd been wearing a harness


It did mess your mind up quite a bit. I don't think you will ever recover.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Switched said:


> That's exactly my point, don't forget it...
> 
> We all do that stupid "It's only gonna take a second" or when you are at home doing something; "I don't need the safety glasses".
> 
> ...


Fify!


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> S**t...I fell 12' right thru a ceiling onto a slab coming up on 2 years
> ago and I'm still not fully recovered.
> 
> Our bodies are FRAGILE. I wish I'd been wearing a harness


One military building I did a lot of work in had suspended 1" concrete ceilings 12'-16' above the floor below.

There were cat walks to work off of but sometimes one needed to venture out on the ceiling itself, which was easily done if you used a plywood skid to work off of. 

I had several apprentices feel they could step off the plywood and end up standing or kneeling on a desk below when the (WWII vintage) ceiling gave way.

Luckily none were ever hurt or landed on a person below.


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

MechanicalDVR said:


> One military building I did a lot of work in had suspended 1" concrete ceilings 12'-16' above the floor below.
> 
> There were cat walks to work off of but sometimes one needed to venture out on the ceiling itself, which was easily done if you used a plywood skid to work off of.
> 
> ...


Monmouth park race track sounds like that. They have walkways with no railings to walk around and service the recessed metal halied fixtures. I never worked maintenance there, but I was there for a few months on contract work. Some involved running conduit above the canopy. If you walked off the catwalk, you were standing on tin. Well not for long.


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

*U*

Prayers to his family.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

sbrn33 said:


> It did mess your mind up quite a bit. I don't think you will ever recover.


Funny guy...you have no idea how much that has screwed with my head.
I cannot bring myself to venture out alone on a river (to go fishing) cause
I'm afraid it will break again and I would not be able to crawl out of the bush.

I miss my outdoors activities


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

cabletie said:


> Monmouth park race track sounds like that. They have walkways with no railings to walk around and service the recessed metal halied fixtures. I never worked maintenance there, but I was there for a few months on contract work. Some involved running conduit above the canopy. If you walked off the catwalk, you were standing on tin. Well not for long.


I hate that place for several reasons.

The primary reason is the death of a friend and the wounding of his son while working there.

My good friend Tom Malley Sr died from his injuries trying to save his son from an arc flash incident there years ago. I can't hear the name or drive by there and not recall that very sad day. 

Tom was an electrician's electrician, may God rest his soul.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> Funny guy...you have no idea how much that has screwed with my head.
> I cannot bring myself to venture out alone on a river (to go fishing) cause
> I'm afraid it will break again and I would not be able to crawl out of the bush.
> 
> I miss my outdoors activities


You need to get over that fear brother.

Maybe see someone and work through that.

One will never soar when they ground themselves with a fear of 'what if'!


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I hate that place for several reasons.
> 
> The primary reason is the death of a friend and the wounding of his son while working there.
> 
> ...


I remember when that happened. I didn't know them, although I met the son a few times years later. 

I had taken pictures of some pretty cool high voltage stuff inside the building. Stuff I've never seen before. Probably original to the building and not used for fifty years. New or old, inside or out, it's all dangerous. 

Sorry for your loss.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

MechanicalDVR said:


> You need to get over that fear brother.
> 
> Maybe see someone and work through that.
> 
> One will never soar when they ground themselves with a fear of 'what if'!


Mac...I have subtly turned my ankle on gravel/stone driveways 
at job sites etc...and brother , it don't feel right.

Now if i get hurt again on a job site , chances are fairly good
either I'll be found on the ground or someone will be there anyway
to help.

Out on some of our rivers here , you could be a few miles from 
someone (out of hearing distance for sure).

surgeon told me under no uncertain terms to walk on trusses 
I beams or balncing acts of any kind or I could snap the screws.


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## cuba_pete (Dec 8, 2011)

I definitely don't want to judge the guy, so prayers for him and his family.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

cabletie said:


> I remember when that happened. I didn't know them, although I met the son a few times years later.
> 
> I had taken pictures of some pretty cool high voltage stuff inside the building. Stuff I've never seen before. Probably original to the building and not used for fifty years. New or old, inside or out, it's all dangerous.
> 
> Sorry for your loss.


Thanks bro, Tom Sr was one hell of a guy, we go back to the early 1970s. 

I remember his kids in diapers basically.

I think about all the tragedy in that family all the time.

His wife died from an Alzheimer's related thing not long after that as did her sister, her niece, and even her brother...all gone way before their time.

Haven't seen his daughter in years but often wonder if the disease skipped past her.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

cuba_pete said:


> I definitely don't want to judge the guy, so prayers for him and his family.


I don't think anyone wants to judge him.

Just the feeling it could have been avoided but when it's your time to go it's your time.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> Mac...I have subtly turned my ankle on gravel/stone driveways
> at job sites etc...and brother , it don't feel right.
> 
> Now if i get hurt again on a job site , chances are fairly good
> ...


I fully understand your injuries but you can't let them run your life bro.

I hope you carry a cellphone at all times.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I fully understand your injuries but you can't let them run your life bro.
> 
> I hope you carry a cellphone at all times.


Uhhh yeahhh ...the cell phone....no cell phone. I hate em.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

lighterup said:


> Mac...I have subtly turned my ankle on gravel/stone driveways
> at job sites etc...and brother , it don't feel right.
> 
> Now if i get hurt again on a job site , chances are fairly good
> ...


Messed up my knee after going over the handlebars of a motorbike at over 80mph. Still scares the hell out of me when i brake hard as i just know that the front wheel is going to lock up. (doesn't slow you down when its locked up)

Fear is good it keeps you from repeating the same mistakes. Fear that stops you enjoying yourself is a medical problem. 
I still enjoy riding fast bikes and going like a bat out of hell, I still get flash backs and feel that bead of sweat run down my back when the bike dives under heavy braking but its just to much fun to let fear control my hobbies.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> Uhhh yeahhh ...the cell phone....no cell phone. I hate em.


Hate them or not in the right or should I say wrong situation it could save your life.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

Makes me think about all the times I was "taking it for the man" doing silly unsafe things. 

I have a long list of stupid things I have done over the years.
I remember once hammer drilling through a precast concrete wall, on an extension ladder. Back then 15 feet high seemed like nothing. Wrong!


Young electricians and apprentices. If you think something is unsafe, SAY SOMETHING.
Maybe you just think its what you are supposed to do.


I should be dead. Really. Some of the things I have experienced/done in this trade could have been catastrophic. It was expected back then? I thought it was expected. Remember, I was coming up with guys that tested voltage with their fingers.

This is why I'm so animated when it comes to what was accepted back in the day compared to today. 

Guys just be careful. This is what I would want someone to tell me when I first started out.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

John Valdes said:


> Makes me think about all the times I was "taking it for the man" doing silly unsafe things.
> 
> I have a long list of stupid things I have done over the years.
> I remember once hammer drilling through a precast concrete wall, on an extension ladder. Back then 15 feet high seemed like nothing. Wrong!
> ...



Many of us old timers did these stupid things and YES they were expected.

Glad you survived bro!


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Hate them or not in the right or should I say wrong situation it could save your life.


yeah I had one , but when I was off work from the injury , 
I just cancelled it and never got a new one...but I still
cannot stand the non stop ringing...I find them to be
intrusive...

I mean ...don't you remember ? It wasn't that long ago
we all weren't carrying these things. Didn't seem to be a
problem back then.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

John Valdes said:


> Makes me think about all the times I was "taking it for the man" doing silly unsafe things.
> 
> I have a long list of stupid things I have done over the years.
> I remember once hammer drilling through a precast concrete wall, on an extension ladder. Back then 15 feet high seemed like nothing. Wrong!
> ...


Oh man do I got one for you!

A friend of mine (HVAC) got me a job with his boss as soon as
I got home from the Army in 1988.

We were working on a 3 story building up on the roof.
There was some equipment built into the side of the building
about 6' below the flat roof.

His (our) boss had an extension ladder and had me sit on the 
end of the ladder , while he had my friend rappel on rope ran
through the rung of the overhanging ladder to get to the
equipment 6' down (over 20' above the ground???)

I was adamantly opposed to this , but the old man just told 
me "sit there...don't move and John will be perfectly safe"....

I didn't care ...I was absolutely bitching about it...totally unsafe.

As soon as John was back up on the roof , I grabbed my gear 
and left. Told the guy he was an idiot.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> yeah I had one , but when I was off work from the injury ,
> I just cancelled it and never got a new one...but I still
> cannot stand the non stop ringing...I find them to be
> intrusive...
> ...


Bill you're being obstinate, if having it in your pocket is purely a safety measure to free you up to go out and do things so be it.

You don't need a contract for 9-1-1 to work on a cellphone!


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

lighterup said:


> Oh man do I got one for you!
> 
> A friend of mine (HVAC) got me a job with his boss as soon as
> I got home from the Army in 1988.
> ...


I have heard and seen some stupid things like that go on but I've never been a part of it.


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## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I have heard and seen some stupid things like that go on but I've never been a part of it.


Geez Mac...I was relaying a story and a scenario. I think i was 
pretty clear that I objected strongly enough that I
determined I wasn't going to work for the guy. How much stronger
could i have been.

And I'm not obstinate...I'm resistant:vs_laugh:


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## robertstaley28 (Oct 30, 2018)

So sad! please attention all the electrician and all kinds of related person please start your work after taking the best protection and safety.


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## Wiresmith (Feb 9, 2013)

Switched said:


> This sucks and was likely 125% unavoidable. He and others more than likely shrugged safety protocols.
> 
> .


only OSHA required for employees, if he was owner/operator or iron worker/electrician then he didn't do anything wrong.

there's always something you "could" have done in hindsight, he may have done it a million times

no amount of safety in the world will guarantee you going home

everybody draws there lines in the sand for safety in different places

i work with iron workers that don't have to tie off and don't and never seen one fall

what if he had a harness, fell and was left hanging up there by himself, how many of you always have an extra guy standing around when you have to tie off? how are you going to get down, 15 min and your blood in your legs could clot and cause a heart attack or stroke when you move. you draw your line in the sand in a different spot then him, doesn't mean your going to make it home today.

NFPA 70E isn't adopted by OSHA either, those aren't requirements many places and no one says they have to be and many employers refuse to abide by it, they don't have to. and you know why, because if someone says "your not allowed to do that NFPA 70E says you can't" the employer says "70E is not a requirement, it's expensive toilet paper". then when their guy gets hurt or killed after doing what he was told they testify in court "we gave him NFPA70E training and refresher courses every year, we protected him form the hazard he went out of his way and put himself in danger". guess what, he had the NFPA training, the employer ad every employer since he was an apprentice has instructed him to work in contradiction to NFPA70E and employer gets off Scot-free and doesn't own an arc flash suit or lock and tag. yeah NFPA70E really helps the working man huh. this type of approach is the only kind i have seen by employers and i'm union. similar mindset approach with osha regulations, he had the formal training, but has been taught in the field since he started not to follow them.

that training protects the employer, especially when they let people be trained in the field in a different way. i was definitely taught not to follow safety regulations in the field all while getting annual "training" on anything under the moon.


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