Dominion Safety Experts travel our service area conducting live wire demonstrations for fire departments and emergency responders to alert them to the dangers of working around power lines.
0:00 maybe I'll watch a couple minutes, definitely not all 22 minutes 22 minutes later... Wait, it's done already? Really well done, I feel like I learned a lot. Had no idea about the generator backfeed.
I used to work as a window washer, and I used a tool called a tucker pole. It's a super long extendable aluminum pole with a water hose inside of it and a brush at the end. You use it to wash high windows outside. My boss had always told me to watch for power lines, cause the pole extended easily twice as high as most. He even told me a horror story of a guy who used to work for him who hit a line with the tucker pole by accident and it literally blew his boots off his feet. Took him years to recover and he was never the same. One day I was out washing with the pole, it was raining, there were trees and bushes around, it was getting stuck everywhere and I was irritated. The pole got caught on a tree and I gave it a good yank backwards to get it unstuck. It pulled free and as I stumbled backward the pole whipped back and smacked something overhead. I looked up and realized I had hit the power line above me. I was standing in a puddle, but was wearing rubber boots, they were full of holes though and my feet were soaked. Watching this video really freaks me out and makes me realize I'm probably lucky to be alive.
Bro,i am partially agree with you,the part where i am not agree is the "luck" factor...nothing such like luck bro...you may call it a blessing and a second chance to have your own life to live,but now with precious lesson learned NOT THE HARD way...remember,someone is waiting for you home or someone cares for you every day without you knowing that all the time...just take care for yourself and treat any risk with respect,otherwise you endup like the bullies,allways,someone kick theyr asses,do not be one of them. Thank to God for what you have now,or whoever you's like to say thanks in your mind,it'll do it.
I backed up into a residential power line on a roofing job - one that I was well aware of and had even said out loud to myself not to back into as an extra reminder that it was right there. I was laying on my side installing some flashing and my arm got a nice buzz. Jesus Christ. I don't think I'm lucky to still be here, I know I am. What happened? *Distraction,* all the way. Got focused on the task at hand and momentarily spaced out on the wires out of sight and mind behind me. Figuring I had just used up one of my lives, I decided to never work around exposed service lines. If they're not completely insulated, we'll get the power company out there to do it first. That was 21 years ago now, never had another problem like that. Beginner's luck. I should have been gone.
For those complaining of how long the training program is, the training program consists of overhead and underground completion sections. You have to know your different voltages, transformer bank setups, climb poles and do the work aloft, work on diving boards, pole rescues, underground switches, overhead and underground secondary and primary repairs, learn to switch devices out in the substations etc. Each section they learn, they then have to go back and get signed off in their local offices. Operate bucket trucks, trenchers, backhoes etc. You don't just go through some training and then be let loose. It's very extensive for a reason. Not only is your life on the line everyday but your coworkers and the general public.
@@2KCamaroZ28SS Check out the history of linesmen. When we first starting electrifying the country (early 1900's) they say that several linesmen were killed every week. Back then people weren't trained that well are were killed routinely. This is why they now have extensive training programs, and it has worked. A lot less fatal electrocutions nowadays.
Transformers certainly work backwards. Although I'm a little surprised companies don't make them with power diodes to prevent that. Would be expensive for sure.
Dominion Power has a great team here. Well spoken, and well executed without any safety mistakes that would endanger themselves or others. The demonstration trailer setup is one of the best I have seen. It covers just about all typical accidents.
Yea this is a great informative. But I gotta kinda feel sorry for the poor lineman cooking hot dogs 😂 It's just gotta be a little bit nerve wracking doing something you normally are trained not to do!!
MrHillfolk Not necessarily. Knowing exactly how it will behave (plus the fact it’s a current-limited version of the 7200V, with much less total energy behind it than the real deal) means you won’t be as nervous.
RG&E in Rochester, NY, does this demo with the same pole stubs that they train workers on. if they did this cart they could show more people the problem with showing high-school kids is they would try it on their own time because they think they are invincible.
Back when the garbage cans were 55 gallon oil drums, we used to throw the lids and cans on the CTA third rail and another rail. It would send the lid or can two stories into the air. You could barely see it because of the arc. Fun stuff! It gave me a lot of respect for electricity.
A story I heard was a lineman, faithful to his marriage, wore his wedding back all the time. Eventually it wore a hole in his work glove which unfortunately lead to his death by accidental electrocution. After that all electrical workers are not allowed to wear metal jewelry on the job. Don't know if it's true or not but I noticed that my wedding band does indeed wear a hole in my work glove. Thankfully I'm not in the electrical field of business.
@@rondohunter8966 Thats why I plan on remaining single for the rest of my days lol. Seriously though if I do ever get married most electricians have plastic/composite wedding bands to avoid the hazard of conductivity.
Excellent demonstration of how dangerous power lines can be.. and the warning about backfeeding the primary side with a generator should be seen by everyone who used a generator during an outage.. Thank you..
Great Demo. The correct recipe for an electric hot-dog is 120V end-to-end for 60 seconds, or 240V for 15 seconds. Depending how crispy you like it. A true 7000V primary will just burn or explode it, too much! But the power-limited (back-fed) 7000V demonstrated would cook it fast, maybe 2-3 seconds depending on the transformer impedance and/or generator power.
you do not get to do the first test on the gloves. there is a special group that puts then though tests. they hang them on a trolley that carries them through water and they are on a live voltage. if they have any pin holes. it will stop and let you know what the problem is. they also have a special pouch they are stored, signed out and checked back in at the end of the day. also required to wear heavy glove on top of them during use. in power plants where the person uses them on high voltage motor control centers, they also wear fire resistant suits and helmet in case of a short or explosion. it has happened.
As a private citizen I found this to be VERY "Enlightening" (pun intended). I wish my COOP had something like this annually to show and remind everyone how important it is to be cautious around downed lines and using generators to back feed their homes(something I have never heard of until this video). Thank you for possibly saving my life, from an Ohioan. :)
Be the change! You ask your power company if they want to set up a demo, idk how much it will cost but ask them... and by the way... the power company is also private citizens... everyone is...
When I was in fifth grade we had a guy from the power company come to our school with some little model neighborhood with its own power lines. I'm not totally sure how it worked but he had these little people doing things like cleaning pools or working with ladders. At one point the guy working with the ladder hit some power line and it made a loud pop that startled all of us. He also had a couple of kids near a tree and when one of the limbs made contact with a line it looked like the kid standing on the ground next to the tree got fried a lot worse than the kid in the tree. I obviously haven't forgotten it.
Dear sirs, THAT is a sharp, on the spot excellent description of some of the things electric power can do. Particularly the potential energizing of metal objects not necessarily involved with an obvious connection. We had a 60kva line blow in our neighborhood. The lines fell on a chain link fence. It WAS energized. The auto shutdown worked, but not immediately!
What an amazing demonstration! Wish I had one of these guys as a teacher in high school. Can’t say enough good things about the fine men and women who are electricians and firefighters in our communities.
Excellent demo. Brought back some very bad memories of a couple of fellas that I USED to know. It happened over forty years ago and the image is still burned into my mind. Respect electricity because it will not respect you.
@@mikegregory2535 my condoleances for your brother,that is overkilling the soul of a person...be strong bro,i feel your pain as mine,i also know what means to loose forever someone,but guess what,they are just leaving elsewhere,but they also live in our hearts...don't make them sad by you being sad,be strong and make them proud
When I was a kid, I used to hang out with power linemen and watch them work, and would get the old insulators. I didn't realize back then why the foremen would get a little nervous about where I would stand when I'd watch. Now, after 40 years of collecting insulators, and watching linemen work, and seeing these types of videos, I've got a respect for electricity, and its safe use. Now I do electrical work in residential, and have applied all these safety measures in my work as well. Great Video.
As an inside wire man I’ve been shocked by single-phase 440, three-phase 220, and everything in between. House current at 120 volts is also very dangerous, as you cant let go! Have good line testers, never work in live wires without being well insulated and NEVER plug a generator into your home breaker panel without cutting the connection to the mains. (The one that hurt me most was having a fluorescent ballast fall down and I grabbed it-1700+ volts through my arms and down my legs to the steel grounded platform. Electricity travels along the bones through the periosteum and all my bones from the shoulders down hurt for weeks.). Closest I came to a Darwin Award. ‘Nuff said.
Fun part: other countries run on single phase 240 and three-phase 400 for normal usage. industrial three phase goes at 690. Also the safety is handled a bit different: if there has be done work on a line, may it be high 240kV or just your house system - disconnect the mains, prevent the reconnecting of said ones. test for current/voltage. At home-owner level this 'should' be enough, but there are two more 'rules' - ground and short circuit, and if you other engized parts in your vicinity - cover them or close the access to them. Simple and prevents many accidents.
drcoveil The reason for not being able to let go once you hold a live wire is that current flow through the wire causes muscle contraction resulting in a harder grip.
I would not have guessed a tiny pinhole in a dry glove would be enough to allow an arc to form. Scary stuff. I think I'll avoid high voltages. Appreciate the work you all do
Great demonstration! People just don’t understand how much current is flowing through those wires. I know a NH lineman who became a path to ground for a great deal of electricity and he was never able to work again. My hats are off to the brave people who keep the lights on!
Saw this same demo by Kansas City Power and light. Unfortunately the former lineman giving demonstration lost both legs and 1 arm in an accident. Someone kicked on a generator while he was working during a power outage. It back fed the line and bit him good. Thats why they started this demo, to prevent future accidents. Proper procedure s were not followed. He now is a safety guy and speaks all over about his experience.
It must be an American thing where a lot of people have generators to power their whole houses. Here we just use the smaller ones where you plug the devices in directly and the larger ones are only used in commercial situations like hospitals and such. Still, good to know.
It’s not an American thing, the generator is designed to just plug stuff into it. But some people think the are smart and plug the generator into a house outlet, and that it will power the house. It’s usually not enough to power the house like big appliances. Now days people are buying these solar panels on eBay or solar DC inverters that include instructions to plug directly into a wall outlet and causes the same problem. These are illegal, but some manufacturers and companies making these thing from other countries don’t care if they are illegal to use. They only care about selling them and making money, so they don’t even care about human life. Same reason fake electronic lab,es are printed on a lot of stuff without proper testing or certification. Makes you wonder what you have in your house that can burn it down one night because you bought the cheapest possible one from a company in a country that doesn’t care about your human life. But it’s not allowed to be used or sold in the country it’s being manufactured. Think about that for a second.
Funny all the stupid things foreigners pick on murikans for..... Most people don't own a small generator much less an inverter. For someone calling itself "the truth" you sure made a bad assumption about people you don't know. LOL. But what would I know, I've lived in murika my whole life, I've only known 2 people personally that had home generators and less than 5 that had a portable one. I live in a RV, I have a onboard generator, and I have a portable one as well because I work construction, though it's not a small one it's a 10kw, the one on my motorhome is a 8kw. The motorhome has a automatic xfer switch for the generator so any idiot could use it.
@@PatrickBaptist With shutting down main power becoming more common in summer 'fire season', more and more of us are getting emergency backup generators--not just for convenience, but of necessity. Medical conditions, animal survival, human survival....many things require power in the heat if you're going to survive. I'm planning full solar and a backup generator--and my fire folk WILL be aware and apprised of both.
Truly an excellent production, and a Public Service as well!! This should be required viewing for ALL homeowners and renters! And it probably be ought be shown to students in their Junior and Senior H.S. years. The words "Death can be just INCHES AWAY" are so TRUE!!💥💥💥😗😱😱😈👷👷
One important fact that was omitted is "step voltage". When a high voltage line contacts ground, theirs a voltage gradient around the point of contact up to several feet from it, that just the distance between footsteps can have a potential difference of several thousand volts. Even without contacting the conductor, it can smoke you.
I work for an engineering company. And our electrical safety training was a video of a guy pumping a high amperage switch, an explosion, the lights go out, and then when the lights come back on the guy vanished. That video was enough to make you realize electrocution is not a way you want to go out.
Great demonstrations. I am an electrician from u.k and first time seen this done in a controlled way. Good learning curve for people who dont know about these high voltages and dangerous it can be. Knowledge is power. Could not resist the pun sorry
This should be shown in science classes in school, I knew a lot of this information but I still learned a lot from this video. Lineman keep the modern world running and I don't think we give enough thanks to the men and women who do so.
Wow! This is really fascinating to me, I've always been more of a programming kind of person, but this also might be a career I could pursue as well. Thanks for this very informative demonstration, and for putting it online so its accessible to a wider audience.
I accidentally came by a downed power line behind my house while I was picking up branches after Hurricane Sandy-left the area quick, called the utility company. Weirdest thing-grabbing up branches and there’s black hose-looking thing next to a branch. I first thought it was something that blew off someone’s rain spout in the winds-then I follow it with my eye and see it snaking towards a utility pole. So-leave the area. It doesn’t have to be sparking or humming.
Chances are it's comms cable if it's black and hose-like. Even if it is a secondary mains line it would still be insulated and even if a fault had developed it would've taken out the fuse by then. If the wire is bare, then stay away from it, as secondary cables can touch the ground without arcing due to the ground's high impedance
After 37 years in volunteer fire dept. this is best demo of electrical utility hazards i've seen. It was informative at best and mockup trailer with demonstrations they showed really brought it home on how dangerous this equipment really is.
I have seen people hit by 9.6 Kv might be several times; Myself I have shook off 277 multiple times - which is instantly deadly for most people as the muscles heat to fast to use the contact area; Without being hit a few times I disagree that no one can really gauge the risk; In all cases it is avoid getting the arc going which is demonstrated here; Notice all the rubber they are wearing - there is a reason; I once asked a primary distribution worker about using non-certified pole and the response shows that he knows not to do that;
Thank you. I'm a Technician for a Natural Gas Company and just learned alot about power lines that i didn't know. I will definitely be more cautious around any type of power line. Great Demonstration!
I have been a volunteer Fire Fighter since 1972 (not as active as I was, but VERY safety oriented), currently in a small department with a bunch of know it all 30 something year old's and had our training officer play this video at a meeting. MOST of the jackasses talked throughout the video or played with their phones because THEY know more than everyone else because they have been on the department for 10 or so years. When I was safety officer (before "retiring") if you didn't pay attention, you went home. Needless to say the chief and I had a discussion and it didn't go well. We also had our local power/gas company give us a safety class and sure as shit, the first accident with "lines down" after the class, one of the guys got bit hard. So moral of the story is PAY ATTENTION.
MrTommyboy68 those no it alls r also right here in the power line business also. Had an a class linemen take a cherry “new guy”in the bucket with him and glove 44kv. He made a mistake. The new guy lost a limb and the linemen was messed up worst without going into details. Sad day in the Business.
Excellent demo vid!!! Back feeding is no joke!!! Citizens and their home generators that plug into their homes is a real problem because not everyone does it properly. Thank you so much for this. Pass this on!!!
It's amazing how electricity can arc but not through rubber. When I was In Australia doing some labouring work near an electric train line we had to do an induction course and the instructor showed us a picture of what looked like two boot marks on the top of the train. The guy was working too close to the power cable and was pretty much vapourised.
That's resistance for you, rubber has a very high resistance value, air varies from very high resistance when very dry to quite low when its moist hence the arching.. As the demo has shown the resistance of the human body or a hot dog is also quite low
they also need to update their methods. we pressurize the gloves with compressed air. close off the end with an airtight seal. insert glove into soapy warm water or spray with a soapy water mixture. you can immediately see the bubbles due to crack ands/or pin holes.
Just to let you and others know, the sky glows orange at night in most places thanks to light pollution from improperly designed or installed lights which illuminate the SKY instead of the GROUND. This causes many problems from the disappearance of the entire night sky in some areas to a now dwindling ability to study the universe from the earth. I for one have never seen the Milky-way in the night sky in my life time and I'm in my 40s. At most all I've seen are around 50 of the sky's brightest objects. If and when in my life I'm away from the night sky glow of cities, towns, and farmers who can't point their lights at the ground I may get to see what I'm told is out there but I've never seen.
This must be a standard utility demonstration. A couple of different guys from Dayton Power & Light gave almost exactly the same demonstration each year for many years at the Dayton Hamvention in Ohio.
ApolloWasReal that makes me wish I had put more effort into attending that event...would have loved to see something like this and maybe get to ask questions
Rochester Gas & Electric in New York used to do demonstrations almost exactly like this on a permanent setup at the Wyoming County Fair in Pike NY every year when I was growing up in the early 90s, right down to the hot dog and a squirrel on a stick in lieu of a snake. Only thing I don't remember them doing was the generator bit at the end. I think they even had a direct feed from their primary line in the area (through a safety cutout and controlled contact, obviously) instead of backfeeding with a battery or generator like these guys did.
I never grow tired of this demonstration. I don't know how many times I have seen it but the lesson is the same, stay away from power lines. I worked telephone lines for over 40 years and I never took chances thus I am alive and healthy.
Intresting demonstration! 🙂👍 I've started to build up my own little electronics workshop at home (as a hobby), but before I actually start making any devices I thought it would be a good idea to make sure I REALLY know enough about how to SAFELY handle electricity, and I realized... I don't! 🤦♂️ So thanks for making "lessons" like these publicly available, instead of just showing them exclusivly for companies/organisations! Without them, hobbyist like me would only be useful with some ketchup on top! 😉
For anyone working on low voltage devices (linemen would probably call it ultra low or extremely low, but for our purposes it's just low)... 1.5 volts up to I think the limit is about 30 volts... you have basically no electrocution risk. You'll probably never see an arc. However that doesn't mean parts can't explode in your face if you wire them wrong. And low volts high amps can melt metal - but only metal, it can't melt people, unless you're stupid enough to touch the melting metal. But no electrocution risk as long as you're using a safe source of power (including most computer power bricks for example). AA or 9V batteries are a very safe bet, you can also salvage power supply units from computers, or use laptop chargers, USB chargers, or buy an adjustable voltage one designed for lab use.
I am a retired Utility worker and I served my wonderful company for 36 years. They have SAFETY ALWAYS in mind, as you saw electricity is something you don't want to ASSUME anything. I have done public safety where wires are down and my job was to ensure the public was safe and did not touch or go near the down wires. But, its amazing how some people ignore your call to warning them of the danger and they just feel the freedom to just do what they feel like cause it impedes their freedom or ignore you cause they feel you are imposing a sense of authority on them. Me and my partner would try to reason with them to inform them of the danger and well shit happens when they are STUPID enough to not take the warning and information and think with common sense to be safe.
I worked in a nuclear power plant for 25 years as an Operator and licensed Senior Reactor Operator. It is easy to forget the potential power one is dealing with with electricity. It will make a believer out of you llwhen a disconnect is accidentally opened under load at 500kv.
That is for "just in the worst possible case scenario" just so it all wont explode and kill anyone in a radius from it so its meant to be harder for a arc to be created and be put out fast if opened full power as it never should be. We are talking about the MW area, ppl just dont know the forces involved.
There are switches designed to open under fault conditions which are capable of breaking the circuit. Many of these use gas or air blast to cut the arc. Then there are open air switches which are designed to isolate circuits in addition to the breakers. Those are NOT supposed to be used to break a circuit under load as you get a LARGE noisy arc :)
Awesome video, very good demos and being able to actually see things in action certainly helps. I love the trailer with the power lines on it, never seen that before. Good way to train people anywhere you want to. Im an electrician, but I know a few guys who work on lines, and safety is always top priority. Most people make a mistake at work, they get in trouble or have to pay a few bucks, these guys make a mistake and they die or lose a limb. Electricity is a really amazing force, even though I work with it every day, I never take for granted how dangerous it can be.
DomCorpComm I think you are missing two important points here. one is capacitive coupling, the other is voltage buildup due to higher ground resistances in a ground fault situation. The later case kills even if you are near a live wire lying around and happily buzzing away.
After the wire short demo in the beginning of the video... I wondered what would happen if you used a string of sausages to short the two cables. Then they brought out the hot dog. :)
Thats how all transformer work. Take fex a small 120 - 24V AC transformer, if you feed 24 AC in to the 24V AC output you get 120V AC out on the 120V input.
Thanks for this invaluable information! Seeing the demonstration will, hopefully, make people have an understanding of how quickly this convenience that we take for granted can quickly and silently become lethal !
Tyler McCandless Search for videos of when downed high-voltage lines fall onto the 120V lines, causing thousands of volts to flow through every wire in a neighborhood. Trees on fire, houses on fire, everything on f...ing fire.
