Re: Dangers of high voltage lines,

Posted by charley hellickson on February 22, 2007 at 23:01:17 from (12.216.146.38):

In Reply to: Re: Dangers of high voltage lines, posted by bigjt on February 22, 2007 at 18:11:58:

Hi Wayne. I too am glad you are ok.I have done what you guys are talking about. It was 4-16-76 about 9:00 AM. I worked at the Firestone Tire plant in Des Moines IA. I was standing ontop of a bulk pigment rail car I was unloading. I had a broom with about 16' of electrical conduit fastened to it to reach down into the car to clean it out around the unloading port. It was the third time it had been used, first time I used it. There are six power lines running over the car into a substation beside the unloading station. I never thought about those lines. They are stacked 2-2-2. Each line carries 69000 volts. I planted my feet and raised up the broom to stick it thru the loading port hole.My supervisor was standing on the steel platform beside the car. It had steps up to it and a hinged gang plank to get on top of the cars. The next thing I know was Rex Downard was hollering for help, need some help up here. I didn't feel anything. Then it went thru my mind what happened and I thought, how are the going to get me off of it. This only took like a second or two and then it spun me around 180 degrees and blew me into the air like a rocket. I was going up spreadeagled and felt like I was floating on a cloud. Rex said I went 30' up, I don't know. I was looking at the ground and knew I was going down there and there was nothing I could do about. I said Lord help me. That is the last thing I know. The rest of it Rex told me. The car was a rounded type tanker with the catwalks on the outside of the loading portholes down the center. Rex ran across the car and grabbed my leg and hung onto me till somebody got up there to help. Rex didn't know how he did it. I was 6' and about 235 LBS. When I came too I was lying on the catwalk of the car. The first thing out of my mouth was, Glory be to Jesus I am alive. I couldn't see anything but a little light and couldn't feel anything. I didn't even know what there was of me. I could smell the burned flesh and oh did it stink. I was taken to two hospitals in Des Moines and then sent to the UOI Hospitals in Iowa City, burn center. Spent 4wks. there. Iowa City said the electricity never went thru my body, it went over me. They couldn't find a hole where it went in or came out. That 69000 ripped slits in my clothes and a slit in my left 8" Red Wing boot. I saw the pictures of it, my foot prints were burned into the top of that car. There was a white line around each shoe and just inside that was all these little white dots. The electicity went thru every nail in my shoes. I had second and third degree burns over 60+ percent of my body. Burned the gloves off of my hands. Burned all of my left leg but the knee cap, it was still white. Lower leg grew all new skin back. I was told that 30 minutes after it happened, the top three officals from Iowa Power & Light stood there and said there was no way a man could live thru that. The enginer over my area told Rex that the electicity should have gone thru me and blew me apart like a firecracker. I still have 10 fingers and 10 toes. All the burns are under my clothes. This came out a little long but it is what electricity can do to you and this is my testamony. Thanks. Charley.

Replies:

• Re: Dangers of high voltage lines, Rexalot 23:26:20 02/22/07 (0)

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