Live Wires and First Responders event highlights electrical emergencies

Mountain View Electrical held a live safety presentation Thursday morning to show how first responders train to work in electrical emergencies.

Everyday on the job, linemen face different consequences responding to electrical emergencies.

“It just depends. I mean, you can come up on a car accident, or it can be a storm. A couple weeks ago, we had a whiteout blizzard and lines just come down,” said Dan King, a lineman for Mountain View Electric.

King used a grapefruit to demonstrate what happens to a human heart if someone is struck by a downed line.

“What would happen if the current goes through, compelling the circuit, touching the hot wire to the ground, going through your heart, it burns in the inside,” said King.

One of the most common situations involving electrical emergencies is cars crashing into power lines.

“We deal with the traffic accidents here in the poles, downed power lines, power lines in trees, the meter issues with structure fires, shutting the power off to homes,” said Jeff Petersna, a deputy fire chief for the Falcon Fire Department.

Responding to an electrical emergency is a team effort. It starts with the fire department and, in severe cases a Flight For Life helicopter.

“The initial burn damage, you’re rarely able to see. So, that’s something that plays out with time. We want to get them to that burn center as quickly as we can,” said Megan Hawbaker, a flight nurse for Flight for Life Colorado.

The goal of the demonstration is to be as prepared as possible in electrical emergencies.

“There’s so many hazards, and we just want to help educate people on that and make them aware of what can possibly happen,” said King.