Fires and Wires

you are about to see 24 lives being saved the driver of the accident car is only one of them there are also three police officers to members of the ambulance rescue squad three men from the electric company and 16 spectators all will escaped serious injury or death because the rescuers know how to play it safe with electricity question ambulance Detroit Edison assistance graduated Jackson this knowledge ken's to and in the demonstrations which follow you will see how to protect yourselves and others in emergencies involving electricity haha one the wire let's take a moment to consider electricity itself a source of enormous power yet easily controlled a relatively small copper wire can conduct this dynamic force along a given path danger in electricity is not always obvious though under normal conditions electricity is a safe and obedient servant quietly at work about us in a thousand ways it has revolutionized our lives influenced our business methods and become an integral part of science medicine our modern world and yet like any other great power it can be misused and this mission can result in injury and death right now we'd like you to meet a person whose specialty is misusing electricity we call him Joe uninformed because that's what he is uninformed about electricity he's learning one of the facts about it now the hard way so the fact is if you make yourself part of an electric circuit you'll get shocked fortunately for Joe it's not serious this time next time it will be we're going to see a lot of Joe Joe's accidents are usually due to his lack of knowledge about the facts of electricity for example the fact that you do not have to touch an electric wire to be seriously injured all it may take is contact with something that is touching the wire like this metal saw Oh or a damp wooden letter don't even trust ordinary rubber gloves or boots as they or any other non-approved tool cannot protect you from electricity let's go to some typical emergencies where you need to play it safe car department will configure you say lightning hit a tree hit a post and wires it down are there any houses anything they are well here's here's what you do you stay away from them keep everyone away from them we'll have our crew right there what location again was why what he got John why I've got a fourth week Oh wire down those safely put up in accordance with strict codes wire can be brought down by storms floods fires and other accidents whatever the cause there are three basic steps to follow in handling the emergency sized up the situation before you do anything else in other words look before you leave watch out for wires in the area be sure there are no dangling wires overhead look the ground over carefully also Oh Joe isn't bothering and he'll surely step on a live wire for these demonstrations Joe has many lives but in real life he'd be out of the picture for good when you've located all the wires you are ready to perform step number two place a guard and call the electric company it is no reflection on your own courage or ability to leave that wire where it is The Electric Company men are experts they are trained in the fine points of their job let them do it they have the tools and know how to do it safely remember too that a live electric wire may energize other objects which it touches wire fences for example now Joe knows enough not to touch the fence right next to the wire but how about down there yes the entire length of the fence can be dangerous so long as that wire lies across it so keep the public away from the fence or any metal object the wire touches puddles of water can be dangerous too if the wire is in them but suppose this situation exists when you drive up someone is in contact with the wire you cannot wait for help to arrive this is where the third step comes in if you must act use proper tools and procedures in this case the proper tools might include special rubber linesman's gloves in perfect condition a completely dry rope a long drive well varnished wooden pole or leather never touch a victim with your hands or anything which will conduct electricity to you until wires are no longer in contact with the victim never use sticks or ropes you find lying at the scene because they might be damp and conduct electricity back to you once the wire is pulled clear and anchored down the victim should be given artificial respiration if necessary here they're using the mouth-to-mouth method got that princess brilliant mom whatever your own recommended method already use it until a resuscitator can be applied to a genomic reputation let's look at the same situation again only this time the victim is lying on top of the wire the important thing is to pull him clear as quickly as possible again a non-conducting Pike pole or dry rope is used to pull the victim off the wire while doing this be sure to pull down the surrounding wire with poles wooden ladders or dry hose to keep it from moving or whipping toward rescuers or spectators and to reduce arcing then apply artificial respiration as before downed wires sometimes occur in connection with auto accidents like this one we saw at the very the first impulse is to help a victim out resist this impulse it can be deadly Oh sized up the situation before doing anything if downed wires touch the car keep away keep others away too as far as the victim is concerned make sure that there are no attempts to leave the vehicle it could be fatal with a victim to touch the ground while still in contact with the car don't get up yes stay in the car call the electric company for removal of the wires it may seem a period of waiting but it's the only way to play it safe notice how they do it using the same kind of dry equipment we saw earlier the only time you should try this yourself is when the victim is too badly injured to be left in the car here's a different situation this time the car is on fire as well as being in contact with the wire if the victim can move give instructions to leap out now be careful now and open the door I don't touch anything on the outside okay now if you have that they can take a long Liam jump clearing the car without hanging on okay this is the only way to leave an energized vehicle with any safety in emergency calls involving wires down you've seen some of them always follow the three steps we saw demonstrated first size up the situation before you do anything else second place a guard and call the electric company question ambulance Edison assistance right away as near as active and third if you must act use proper tools and procedures just way out nearly every fire can create electrical hazard for firefighters though the origin of the blaze may not be electrical at all but the safety rules we have just discussed can also save life in firefighters at first size up the situation to determine what electrical hazards exist look for sag or fallen wires outside the burning structure as well as in remember that smoke may obscure otherwise obvious hazards place a guard and call the electric company to advise them of electrical hazard take care as you guide the fire truck into place or put an aerial ladder into position keep them well away from fires the further the better there is sometimes a temptation to cut wires right away but think twice instead of eliminating a hazard it can create a greater one for the whole fire true the public and the utility man look here's Joe going up the ladder to cut a wire he's using an unsafe instrument an ordinary tree pruner a fellow firefighter stands on the wet ground holding the letter goodbye Joe goodbye follow crew member on the ground the electricity ran down the pruners Joe the metal ladder and his friend careful you don't get underneath wires here so that they drop down on you then bob was going to have to cut this drop it to loop then get the ladder we'll put it up here put it on this side Bob you get to halfway cut it will cut there if in extreme emergency it is absolutely necessary to cut wires do it here at the surface drive for the wires cannot spring out of control the cutting should be done with special wire cutting equipment including a wooden ladder and where wires are twisted or braided together they should be cut one wire at a time to avoid hazardous arcing love the life here's what can happen if you cut them all at once now let's look at the fire itself notice that they are not using a regular pressure nozzle to fight it around the wires instead they use a fine fog stream this is the safest way to fight fires around electrical hazards since the fine spray does not present a solid path of water thus electricity cannot travel back to the hose handler if you must use a solid stream the thing to remember is keep as far back from the electrical unit as possible the greater the distance the less the hazard of course water should never be used in electric motor fires co2 or dry chemical type extinguishers are the most effective means of safely putting out this type of fire all about fires at installations like an electric substation fortunately fires are a rare occurrence there and electric companies usually have their own crew to fight them but it's a good idea to know the hazards in advance Electric Company safety people are always eager to cooperate in acquainting you with their property they can advise on emergency action for fires in a generating plant or substation now let's consider several other emergency situations which come up from time to time in our the first is construction equipment accidents in spite of precautions and warnings by electric companies sometimes equipment operators will make contact with electric lines because it is difficult to judge clearances from overhead lines or because he failed to look when this happens the entire piece of equipment will be energized anyone touching both equipment and ground can be instantly killed if you are present in such an emergency remember first size up the situation second place a guard and call the electric company third if you must act use proper tools and procedures be sure the victim is away from contact with the charged unit and then apply artificial respiration immediately if needed Oh home in your ordinary day-to-day activity watch for dangerous practices on construction sites do not hesitate to warn the people involved it may save their lives and save you an emergency run later on occasionally you may get a call for fires in manholes or tunnels which contain electrical equipment normally the only action needed here is to place a guard to keep people away from the possible explosion and call an equipped emergency team the only reason to enter a manhole under such circumstances would be to save the life of someone who is there if you do enter a manhole you should carry self-contained breathing apparatus and a lifeline after a gas analyzer has been used to guard against explosion and finally who has not received the call of cat up a tree or utility pole when you get a situation like this simply refer it to the electric company they have men trained for this job with their special equipment including insulated rescue poles they can save the cat without risking their own lives in the process and what is the felines injured dignity in comparison to a human life Oh we have seen how a number of more common electrical emergencies should be handled in connection with downed wires in fires and in other emergencies let us once again emphasize the point use only approved equipment do not use makeshift tools like tree pruners rubber handled pliers sticks or ropes found at the scene they are not made for dealing with electricity these tools are your local electric company can tell you what to get if you do not own them already it pays in safety to have them as a regular part of your equipment this includes special rubber linesman's love make sure they are in good condition too notice how lineman test their gloves they look for air leaks through even the minutest holes if a tiny hole is present destroy the defective glove a new pair is an inexpensive investment in protection get to know your electric company people and their own emergency facilities all on them freely never feel you are passing the buck or shirking your duty they are experts in electricity and want to help and above all don't be an uninformed Joe you won't be if you remember the three rules of safety one size up the situation before doing anything at all new place a guard and call the electric company and three if you must act use proper tools and procedures do these things and you will protect yourself and others when you meet with an electrical emergency I love Oh