EMT recounts feeling of helplessness after utility line fell on Hempfield woman - Tribune-Review

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<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="7" style="vertical-align:top;"><tr><td width="80" align="center" valign="top"><font style="font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif"></font></td><td valign="top" class="j"><font style="font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br /><div style="padding-top:0.8em;"><img alt="" height="1" width="1" /></div><div class="lh"><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&amp;fd=R&amp;usg=AFQjCNGuQ_qFwMKjoUY0G0XzvwehDatoKA&amp;url=http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourhempfield/yourhempfieldmore/2986849-87/goretzka-lipinski-carrie-harper-injuries-power-testified-jurors-michael-burn"><b><b>EMT</b> recounts feeling of helplessness after utility line fell on Hempfield woman</b></a><br /><font size="-1"><b><font color="#6f6f6f">Tribune-Review</font></b></font><br /><font size="-1">Emergency crews could not help a Hempfield woman as she “writhed in pain” beneath a live, 7,200-volt power line for more than 20 minutes until West Penn Power Co. crews arrived to cut power and pull the line off her, a paramedic told an Allegheny <b>...</b></font><br /><font size="-1" class="p"></font><br /><font class="p" size="-1"><a class="p" href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=drUQ1TQ9_SfPeBM&amp;ned=us"><nobr><b>and more&nbsp;&raquo;</b></nobr></a></font></div></font></td></tr></table>

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[Just Plain Ruff]

This whole thing just sucks. Sorry for the family and sorry for the responders.

The question I have is why did the fire department not have the equipment to get to the woman? I ask this because I truly do not know what it takes to get a 7200 volt wire off a victim. Can someone enlighten me? Does it truly only take the power company to get the wire off the woman or do fire departments have the equipment to do this?

And if so, shouldn't the fire department have this type of equipment?

[Arctickat]

Our fire dept has the equipment to cut a downed power line and render it safe, but I'll have to check if there is a maximum voltage they are rated for.

[island emt]

A downed live primary wire can be carrying up to 25,000 volts.

the only safe way to disconnect it is to pull the circuit cut out on the pole. The danger of an arc flash is very large and special rated equipment is necessary. The average department can't afford to buy or maintain certification of the equipment.

NO LINE IS SAFE TO TOUCH :::: EVER!

Yes this scene was bad, but too many times heros have tries to save someone from similar situations and ended up Dead.

Leave it to the professionals.

[inquisimedic]

Agreed. This was definitely a terrible situation for all involved.

The firefighters would have had plenty of tools for freeing the woman from entanglement, however with the amount of voltage running through it any responder that tried to get the woman would be severely injured at the very least. Like island emt said, the only people who carry the necessary equipment to deal with a live wire are utility companies. In a situation with any downed wires emergency responders are trained to back away, call the utility company and wait for them to turn the power off.

[Arctickat]

I just read my post over again and did a face palm...let me put the two words in there that I missed and fix the order....

"Our fire dept has the equipment to cut power to a downed line and render it safe, but I'll have to check if there is a maximum voltage they are rated for."

It's what I was thinking when I typed that but something totally different, (and wrong) came out of my fingers instead.

[Happiness]

We wait for word from hydro in these cases... If someone starts up a generator from their home it can energize the whole line again and bye bye to us that may be in the way.

[Just Plain Ruff]

See that's why I asked. I have no idea what equipment the FD has, and what they can actually do. I suspect that after 7 or so minutes this ladies fate was sealed already. I suspect that the initial jolt her fate was sealed anyway.

I for one would never be a rescue hero either.

Has anyone seen the Duracell or whatever battery commercial with Rescue randy on the scene of the car wreck with the sparking lines. He walks up with no protective gear and helps the woman in the car. If that was real life, he'd be a crispy critter as would the woman as she rolled down the window.

But I digress, This would have been a terrible scene and I'm surprised there isn't a video showing the entire rescue.