worker shocked when ladder hits 7650 volt power line

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Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
Location
Lakewood Colorado
BOULDER - Two men were injured on Tuesday when the aluminum ladder they were setting up hit a 7,650-volt power line.



Boulder Police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley says the incident happened around 9:45 a.m. in the 1100 block of University Avenue at a private residence that was formerly a fraternity house.

Police say a 22-year-old man was standing on the ground holding the ladder with both hands when it fell back and hit the power line, causing the electricity to surge through it. He was unconscious when authorities arrived on scene.

Huntley called the incident an "apparent electrocution," but says it was not reported to have been fatal.

The second victim, a 25-year-old man, was injured when the ladder fell to the ground and hit him, according to police.

Authorities say both men were taken to Boulder Community Hospital, but police say the extent of their injuries is not yet known.

Police say the two men, both of whom are not students, were setting up the extension ladder in order to paint the outside of the home.

Xcel Energy was also responding to the scene.
 
charlie

charlie

Senior Member
Location
Indianapolis
Stay away from overhead power lines

Stay away from overhead power lines

Pierre C Belarge said:
. . . I wonder how close the high voltage wiring was/is to the building. . .
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Consider a two story house is tall enough to be even with or extend above a distribution line. The distribution line, which is medium voltage, is only required by the NESC to be 7' away from the house. 7' is enough distance unless you lose control of the ladder or are stupid enough to try to reach the line from the ladder. :rolleyes:
 
MAK

MAK

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts-Boston
Would he still have hands if he were holding the ladder when it made contact with the lines? I just assumed that there would be a stub at the end of each arm after something like that. I'm sure that this will go into the "Well I won't do that again" category.
 
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Jesse7623

Senior Member
Location
eastern Mass
MAK said:
Would he still have hands if he were holding the ladder when it made contact with the lines? I just assumed that there would be a stub at the end of each arm after something like that. I'm sure that this will go into the "Well I won't do that again" category.
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well it is possible that if the path through ground was of a low enough impedance that the power would flow right through the ladder and blow the fuse.Most aluminum ladders are lower impedance than the human body.But wow that should have killed him.He's lucky to be alive.
 
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220/221

Senior Member
Location
AZ
Would he still have hands if he were holding the ladder when it made contact with the lines?
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Depends on the contact.

The ladder may have gone across phases or also contacted the bare wire in the triplex below it. If the high voltage went directly from the high line thru the ladder/thru him to ground, it's not going to be pretty.


Maybe he got lucky and most of it went to ground somewhere other than thru him.
 
ceb58

ceb58

Senior Member
Location
Raeford, NC
I know this is off the subject but has any one seen the clips for the movie Crank- High Voltage? The guy must keep getting jolts of electricity to stay alive. It showed him grabbing transformers, sticking his hands in switch gear and his hands are barely dirty from the arc flash. Now I know that we know better but when I first saw this clip the first thing I thought was "some where, some dummy ( or kid) is going to see this movie and think they can do it for real and just walk away"
 
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blueheels2

Senior Member
Location
Raleigh, NC
Occupation
Electrical contractor
One of my coworkers father died about 15 years ago painting a house. Same thing happened, his ladder fell onto the line and it killed him.
 
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