Highline Electric Association lineman Ben Kafka secures a dummy during an annual training exercise Oct. 23. Linemen were required to lower a 185-pound dummy to the ground using ropes, in a situation meant to simulate a worker coming into contact with a high-voltage wire. — Johnson Publications photo
Highline Electric linemen tackle annual safety training
For the linemen of Highline Electric Association, who often work in remote areas, medical help in case of an accident is often a long ways away.
But if a worker comes into contact with a power line, carrying several thousand volts of electricity, they may have only minutes to receive life-saving medical care.
Linemen working for Highline Electric Association attended an annual safety training Oct. 23, which simulated rescuing an injured worker from the top of a power pole.
The Oct. 23 training was originally planned for the following day, but was moved up due to weather.
The dozen linemen each scaled the pole to secure a 185-pound dummy with ropes and safely lower it to the ground within four minutes, which is the ideal range of time in which to begin CPR All linemen are certified in first aid, CPR and use of an automated external defibrillator.
Although HEA Operations Manager Rance Ferguson said he hasn’t personally witnessed an incident like the one being simulated, the danger of working around high-voltage equipment is always present.
“If anyone were to touch a hot wire, it would be a big deal,” he said.
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