Mike, How about a follow up to this? Was anyone else present? What went wrong (equipment, inadvertent movement, etc.) Has an arc flash hazard analysis been performed on this equipment? What was the rating? Any observations on size of fire ball, electrician’s reactions, length of time, etc? As someone in the arc flash field, inquiring minds want to know.

** Being Truly Involved in Worker Safety Programs ** I was a Nuclear Operations and Facility Manager at various DOE nuclear sites prior to retiring Sept. 2005. Personnel and equipment safety were/are vigorously pursued in all operations and maintenance activities. Pre-job briefings, walkdowns, hazards analysis, Lockout Tagout (including all the paperwork and isolation verification by an independent person) are mandatory for all maintenance, not just that on nuclear components. Any evidence of wilfull violations resulted in immediate termination of employment. Stupid mistakes and oversights resulted in an immediate critique involving everyone involved and normally 3-5 days off without pay for the violators. Now I'm away from the DOE environment and into one where the enforcement of regulations and laws depend on skilled craftsmen "doing what is right even when no one is watching". It did take longer to get work done at a DOE facility, but before work started you understood all the hazards and understood and agreed with the scope of work. Throughout the job you knew all applicable isolations were indeed in the proper position, and remained locked and tagged until removed by the person(s) performing the work. Although civilian contractors are trying to get the work done and make a profit doing so, worker safety has got to be more than just idle talk or buzz words. Workers need to look out for the safety of one another and when a safety step is missed or over-looked, have the guts to immediately stop the work and fix the situation before proceeding. In the arc-flash incident described it appears that the electrician acted independently and without forethought of the hazards. Short of posting guards and/or locking most everything up there's not much one can do when a worker goes off on his own.

This reinforces the point for electricians to develope safe working habits. There are times when "it is not my job" is appropriate when safety is concerned. If meters are believed to be working improperly, someone else should verify.

Sometimes our better sense gets pushed aside by something that "has to be done this instant".

I feel very fortunate that I did ot have a serioous accident as this before getting out of being an electrician.

My hope is that a quick recovery is in store for this electrician.

I think the potential for this type of incident is very high in the 480 Volt range. Though a common voltage to many experienced electricians; there are folks in the field without enough training OR the application of training. Short arc length, high current, mid-frequent changes contribute to risks.

The second scenario probably comes into play here. How do you teach someone to apply what they've been trained: "They might NOT get a second chance"?

That safety report was possibly the stupidest thing I have ever read. What was wrong with the hot stick? What was wrong with the 480 cubical? What are they tryiing to cover with paper?

Hi Mike Im sad to report a fatality over the week end in Cambridge Mass. The details have not been disclosed as of yet. The young man was working with utility crew in a vault with a voltage of 13.8 kv. The resulting explosion and fire in the vault caused the evacuation of the building (Hotel). Many people were treated for smoke inhalation because doors were proped open in the stairwell and the vault, this gave the smoke a path to other areas in the hotel

I went on to read the Ontario Power preliminary report and was impressed with the number of checks and balances they apparently have available to prevent accidents. Some of it was acronym-based, and I am uncertain if that method has any real impact, but much of it was an emphasis on humility (checking with peers and supervisors in various positions/levels). I was especially struck with the phrase "Don't answer your own question". That has a lot of truth to it, and I was impressed with the deeper thinking behind that idea, and generally so with thier program, as presented. Now if only we could program out the human tendency to take shortcuts! I am in the military, and we have multiple programs designed to remind our personnel of dangers inherit in alcohol abuse, but no matter how seriously delivered, the message never reaches some people until after they have suffered consequences. I hope the worker in question makes a full recovery, and is forever wiser for his lapse of judgement.

How did a hot stick non metallic cause an arc? it appears he was 3-4 foot away judging by the smoke, still can not fiqure out what caused this arc. I worked for a nuc. plant and know how stringent their procedures are but now work in a large plant where I work up to 2300 volts alone. Worried in Va. Thanks, How is this electrician doing now? and will he keep his job and or get any workmans comp. for violating company policies.

Thank you Mike Holt for focusing on these issues. Even though there are rules and regulations in place, we still have a lot of work to do for us to realize the dangers that exist. Whether we choose to accept it or not, it's still an evolving business, and this is something that everyone needs to improve on. Inside and outside our industry. Some of the way we accomplish our tasks (including myself) have to change. From what I hear, it's not fun having first,second, and third degree burns. Just my opinion.

A lesson learned in a very painful way. It shows that electrical safety can be taught, but it is still up to the individual to practice it.

This is a meaningful topic for our facility. 85% of our equipment is 480V ranging from 2A to 1200A. Being an Off Shore Facility, we are required by MMS to have flash suit and other Electrical Personal Protective Equipment but in most routine troubleshooting of 480V Switchgear we do not use the cumbersom Nomex Flash Suit. This report is an eye opener and a stern call to review NFPA 70E. Does "Oh, that's not going to happen to me, I'm careful." sound familiar?