Pole Top Rescue Training Conducted; Winners Selected for State Competition
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (July 10, 2001) – Line technicians at Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation recently took part in a Pole Top Rescue training and competition conducted by the training department of the statewide association of electric cooperatives, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC).
The program is designed to provide training for line technicians in how to perform the rescue of a fellow lineman who may be injured and is still on the pole. “An accident or injury to a lineman may occur due to natural causes such as a heart attack or from an injury related to the work they’re performing on a line,” said Rocky Flemming, job safety and training specialist for NCEMC. “We simulate such an emergency and time their response as well as how accurately they perform the appropriate rescue steps,” he added.
Line technicians, who work in pairs in the field due to safety reasons, are trained to follow a certain procedure if they suspect an accident or injury has occurred.
The exercise, according to Flemming, requires participants to call in a May Day call on their radio to help dispatchers know where to send emergency help. Participants then get climbing gear out of their trucks, surveys the scene for potential hazards, puts on the climbing gear and climbs up a 40-foot pole to lower the 200-pound mannequin down to the ground with the help of a rope, known as the lifeline. After the mannequin is down, the participant must climb back down the pole, remove his high voltage safety gloves and climbing gear and begin administering CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). To complete the exercise successfully, the entire procedure has to be completed in less than five minutes to prevent brain damage to the victim from lack of oxygen.
In addition to instruction, NCEMC provides the special fall protection safety gear used in the simulation.
Randy Taylor, apprentice line technician in Watauga district, placed first in Blue Ridge Electric’s fastest rescue time at 2:25.41. Keith Hensley, line technician A in Watauga district, came in with the second fastest time at 2:26.19.
On October 18, Taylor will attend NCEMC’s annual statewide competition in Raleigh to compete against other winning electric cooperative employees. Smith is the alternate to attend the Raleigh competition in the event Taylor is unable to attend. The winner of the statewide competition receives $1,000 as the top prize.
