Quick Start Guide Electric Utilities

SECTION 03: KEY SAFETY MESSAGES

Incidents

• A man was electrocuted when he contacted a downed electric power line while evaluating the damage to the trees and shrubs in his backyard resulting from a late fall ice storm. The ice buildup from the storm had weighed down the branches of an evergreen tree and severed a primary conductor of an overhead electric line running along the rear of the man’s property. The man told his wife that he was going outside to look at the ice damage to the trees and shrubs in their yard. There were no witnesses to the incident; apparently, the man tried to free the severely bowed branches from the weight of the ice and touched the energized electric conductor that was tangled in the broken branches of the evergreen, approximately three feet above the ground. This tragic incident may have been prevented if the victim had known to be alert for downed electric lines and had been aware of the hazards associated with downed lines. Public Safety Communications Programs and messages can educate the public about such hazards.

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Developing a Public Safety Communications Program