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Callmecrazy

(3,066 posts)
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 07:12 AM Mar 2016

Had a close call at work...

I'm an electrician. I was hooking up the main feeds that come from the utility transformer to the main switch for all of the buildings power. It's a part of my job that I really enjoy.
I had just finished terminating that last of 24 wires that have the diameter of a quarter into its lug on the switch when I noticed it was near quitting time. I got up off my bucket and walked thirty feet to my blueprint table and was filling out time cards for my temporary help. I was chatting with the guys when suddenly a bolt of lightning entered through the doorway and struck one of the girders holding up the roof- right where I was sitting not two minutes before. The crack of the lightning sounded like a grenade and the smoke and dust it caused made me think my switchgear exploded.
Everything was fine. No damage to the equipment.
But.. I was just sitting where that lightning bolt just hit. Had I not checked my watch and got up off that bucket I think I would have been killed.

Hug the kids, call your mom, kiss the cook who made you dinner. It can all end in an instant. And I just made 2500 posts.

50 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Had a close call at work... (Original Post) Callmecrazy Mar 2016 OP
Holy moly! femmocrat Mar 2016 #1
It really does make you step back and think... Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #2
Do you think all the electrical equipment could have "attracted" it? femmocrat Mar 2016 #3
The building is constructed of steel and cinder blocks... Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #4
Have a friend who opened the backdoor Downwinder Mar 2016 #5
Ball lightening. That is so cool. nt Laffy Kat Mar 2016 #6
I don't approve of language like that on a family forum Orrex Mar 2016 #30
LOL. Sorry to have offended you. Laffy Kat Mar 2016 #31
I think Orrex is referring to testicular reduction surgery resulting from an 'e' that crept into Bernardo de La Paz Mar 2016 #38
souferin sucatash allan01 Mar 2016 #7
Congratulations! In_The_Wind Mar 2016 #8
Fer sure! Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #14
Glad you're still with us.. mountain grammy Mar 2016 #9
So glad you are okay! IdaBriggs Mar 2016 #10
Wheeeeew!!!! Thespian2 Mar 2016 #11
That'll teach you how to conduct yourself. Orrex Mar 2016 #12
OMG! Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #15
I bet you felt montana_hazeleyes Mar 2016 #44
Such a horrible thing to say awoke_in_2003 Mar 2016 #29
Don't be l-ionizing the guy when he's so plugged into his work! lastlib Mar 2016 #50
Happy Easter Depaysement Mar 2016 #13
Twenty-five years ago.... lastlib Mar 2016 #16
Wow!! ailsagirl Mar 2016 #43
Somebody's buying a lottery ticket tonight, I guess... Tab Mar 2016 #17
Electricians attract volts....LOL...Glad you followed your intuition. Dont call me Shirley Mar 2016 #18
Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2016 #19
*whew* Ya never know... Rhythm Mar 2016 #20
A reminder to thank the electrical workers when we turn on a light. rug Mar 2016 #21
Praise Jesus it's a Miracle greiner3 Mar 2016 #22
Apparently no lightning arrester on the roof yet Bernardo de La Paz Mar 2016 #23
Sometimes that doesn't even work Major Nikon Mar 2016 #37
Yikes! mnhtnbb Mar 2016 #24
Most of my working life Plucketeer Mar 2016 #25
that story, was bad ass!!! nt retrowire Mar 2016 #26
Why wouldn't the nurse do it? Laffy Kat Mar 2016 #32
Yeah, they wanted to send me to a local emergency room. Plucketeer Mar 2016 #33
This message was self-deleted by its author DUbeornot2be Mar 2016 #40
................. Liberal_in_LA Mar 2016 #27
Terrifying!!! So glad you're still with us! nt riderinthestorm Mar 2016 #28
Now what do you plan on doing with the extra life you have been given? randr Mar 2016 #34
I've used about four lives so far... Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #35
damn good thing your watch was working well rurallib Mar 2016 #36
Wonder if hooking up the panel you were working on changed the building ground somehow? whereisjustice Mar 2016 #39
The grounding electrodes weren't terminated yet... Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #48
This message was self-deleted by its author DUbeornot2be Mar 2016 #41
All right!!! That's it!!! You're grounded!!! Spitfire of ATJ Mar 2016 #42
Wow! That was a close one. n/t mazzarro Mar 2016 #45
Gadzooks! Turbineguy Mar 2016 #46
WOW! Glad you're OK! How scary! LeftishBrit Mar 2016 #47
I've had some close calls in 22 years at the trade... Callmecrazy Mar 2016 #49

femmocrat

(28,394 posts)
1. Holy moly!
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 07:19 AM
Mar 2016

Glad you are OK, Callmecrazy..... or you might look like your avatar today. It sometimes takes "a bolt from the blue" to make us stop and realize what is most important.

Congrats on your survival and your 2500 posts!

Callmecrazy

(3,066 posts)
2. It really does make you step back and think...
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 07:28 AM
Mar 2016

You know, when you step off the curb to cross the street, you know there might be a car coming so you look both ways. How do you look for a lightning bolt? I was inside the building sitting right next to a doorway. It had been clouding up all afternoon, but no lightning. Until that one hit.
All that night I was having a 'come to Jesus' reflection of the earlier incident.

femmocrat

(28,394 posts)
3. Do you think all the electrical equipment could have "attracted" it?
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 07:37 AM
Mar 2016

I always hesitate to post anything religious in the Lounge, but I completely understand that you are counting your blessings today. Happy Easter, Callmecrazy.

Callmecrazy

(3,066 posts)
4. The building is constructed of steel and cinder blocks...
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 07:48 AM
Mar 2016

So it's a perfect lightning rod. But the lightning walked in through the doorway.
And yes, I'm counting my blessings this Easter Sunday.

And Happy Easter to you, femmocrat.

Downwinder

(12,869 posts)
5. Have a friend who opened the backdoor
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 08:01 AM
Mar 2016

for a ball lightening that came in the frontdoor to go out. He was pretty nonchalant about it. "Looked like it wanted to go out."

Laffy Kat

(16,505 posts)
31. LOL. Sorry to have offended you.
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 01:37 PM
Mar 2016

I guess I won't share the time I saw ball lightening on an airplane.

Bernardo de La Paz

(50,768 posts)
38. I think Orrex is referring to testicular reduction surgery resulting from an 'e' that crept into
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:04 PM
Mar 2016

I think Orrex is referring to testicular reduction surgery resulting from an 'e' that crept into your word for the atmospheric electrical discharge.

In_The_Wind

(72,300 posts)
8. Congratulations!
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 08:44 AM
Mar 2016

Last edited Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:30 AM - Edit history (1)



Don't be checkin' out on me before we have a few drinks together.

mountain grammy

(27,167 posts)
9. Glad you're still with us..
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 08:46 AM
Mar 2016

If that's you're first close call as an electrician, you're lucky.. or young! Be careful out there.

Thespian2

(2,741 posts)
11. Wheeeeew!!!!
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 08:54 AM
Mar 2016

close call...Yes, fortunately we cannot see into the future...

Happy that you are still with us!

Orrex

(63,914 posts)
12. That'll teach you how to conduct yourself.
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:02 AM
Mar 2016

I'm sorry, but you need to brace for the puns you're about to receive in response, so I might as well be the first.

Glad you're ok!

montana_hazeleyes

(3,424 posts)
44. I bet you felt
Mon Mar 28, 2016, 12:22 AM
Mar 2016

really wired after that happened.

All kidding aside , thank goodness you are still here to tell about it. That is just amazing timing!

lastlib

(24,724 posts)
50. Don't be l-ionizing the guy when he's so plugged into his work!
Mon Mar 28, 2016, 10:01 PM
Mar 2016

Loungers will probably give him watt-for for being such a positive guy in a negative world.

lastlib

(24,724 posts)
16. Twenty-five years ago....
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:13 AM
Mar 2016

I experienced a similar close call. Was leaning against a utility pole (one with a transformer) in a rainstorm. (My group was on an outdoor exercise, no place nearby to get in out of the rain, so we just had to grin and bear it.) I walked about twenty feet away from that pole toward the other side of the road, and BOOM! Lightning hit the transformer. Sounded (and FELT) like a bomb! Literally knocked me off my feet, splintered the top of the utility pole I had just been leaning against, smoked the transformer. That was too close for comfort!

That was Sunday morning. Monday morning break, I was sitting at a table with several co-workers, who were mostly talking shop. Another lady co-worker comes up, sits down, and asks, "Well, did we all have an exciting weekend?". I deadpanned, "I got hit by lightning."

*Dead silence* at that table!

Tab

(11,093 posts)
17. Somebody's buying a lottery ticket tonight, I guess...
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:25 AM
Mar 2016

I had a bolt come down and hit a dumpster once not 10 feet from where I was standing. Scared the shit out of me.

Response to Callmecrazy (Original post)

 

rug

(82,333 posts)
21. A reminder to thank the electrical workers when we turn on a light.
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:35 AM
Mar 2016

The plumbers when we drink a glass of water.

The farmers when we chew our bread.

When I think of the dangers workers face daily, I don't understand the fetishization of the military and the police.

 

greiner3

(5,214 posts)
22. Praise Jesus it's a Miracle
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:37 AM
Mar 2016

Seriously, my sister in law believes if she thinks of someone and they call within say a weekITS A MIRACLE😳

Bernardo de La Paz

(50,768 posts)
23. Apparently no lightning arrester on the roof yet
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:51 AM
Mar 2016

... and the new electrical connections fully and properly grounded. Hence the path for the lightning.

Was the new wiring damaged? It could probably carry that discharge, but the entry point and the grounding or ground exit are probably damaged.

Glad you are still with us and we can all hope to be a bit wiser each day.

Major Nikon

(36,898 posts)
37. Sometimes that doesn't even work
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 07:34 PM
Mar 2016

I once worked on a building that had lightning rods every 15' along the perimeter of the building all tied to a counterpoise grounding system that circled the building 30" underground and tied to 10' ground rods every 20'. I was working there one day when lightning hit the building, shattered light bulbs everywhere, and arced across a huge transfer switch, welding it in place.

mnhtnbb

(31,964 posts)
24. Yikes!
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:51 AM
Mar 2016

Scary stuff!

Glad you are ok.

My uncle was an electrical contractor in southern California for many years. He had stories of some close calls, too, but lived to be 92.

 

Plucketeer

(12,882 posts)
25. Most of my working life
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 09:56 AM
Mar 2016

I was an electrician. First with aircraft, then with automobiles and finally with heavy industrial machinery. It was during my aircraft electrician time that I had my closest call. It was the electrician's job to install the explosive squibbs in aerial tankers. These charges looked like shotgun shells but were several inches in diameter. Their purpose is to propel a wedge-shaped blade so that the blade severs an air-to-air refueling hose if it should get tangled around the aircraft being fueled in flight.
We had a checklist for a very strict regimen regarding the installation of these charges. And as usual, we followed that checklist to a tee. Once everyone had signed off on that checklist, I would ascend the workstand that we had to use to access the opening where the charges got installed. This had me basically IN a hole and 13 FEET off the ground. My fellow technicians were standing by in the event I needed help.
So I load the two charges into their respective barrels and that went just fine. Then I started the huge nuts on that held these explosives in place. The first one went on OK, the second one..... All I remember was a bright orange flash and instant deafness. Had I not held that big nut in just the right fashion, I'd be doing this keyboard with just one hand. And having been deafened instantaneously, I was hollering at the top of my lungs: "I'M OK, I'M OK, I'M OK!!!" while reflexively ducking out of the hole and walking backwards. I never thought about the fact that the workstand's guard rails had been lowered so that it would fit close enough to the access hole. I stumbled backwards - right off the workstand. Thanking my lucky stars, my fellow workers were there to catch me - literally - as I plummeted!
There are plastic pellets in those charges and a whole bunch of them perforated my right arm. It looked alot more horrific than it really was. But boy did we wake up the nurses station that night! The head nurse took one look at my arm - riddled with chunks of black pellets and looking like hamburger and said: "There's NO WAY I'm gonna work with that!" So with her pouring on the peroxide, I sat there with a pair of tweezers and picked out the pellet pieces - one by one.

Like Callmecrazy here, I got to see the aftermath of that brush with death and ponder the alternative. I've had a couple other close calls and I just chalk them up to dumb luck. I like to joke about "the Reaper", but I really don't believe there's a numerical list he's workin' his way through. At 71, I keep marveling at younger folks dropping out for "natural causes". But I'm not anxious about it. My time will come when it comes.

 

Plucketeer

(12,882 posts)
33. Yeah, they wanted to send me to a local emergency room.
Sun Mar 27, 2016, 03:45 PM
Mar 2016

By then - although almost completely deaf at that point - I got the gist of what they were saying. She was afraid of causing me more pain AND overlooking some of the pellet pieces (there's still some that I can see!). I just wanted to get the chunks and bits out before scabs started to form. The whole underside of my right forearm was perforated.
Anyway, I sat there, plucking the stuff outta me and she kept rinsing with peroxide. I lived - got my hearing back after several weeks. BTW, the plane fared almost as badly as I did. It got damaged by the big nut I'd been screwing on. And a subsequent investigation as to why it ever happened was inconclusive. I confess I did pucker up a bit the next time I had to do that task!

Response to Plucketeer (Reply #33)

Response to Callmecrazy (Original post)

Callmecrazy

(3,066 posts)
49. I've had some close calls in 22 years at the trade...
Mon Mar 28, 2016, 03:38 PM
Mar 2016

Some of them were even expected. But how the hell do you plan ahead for a lightning bolt to walk in through the door?

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