Dealing with
Live Wires Blue Ridge Electric hosts training
course for area fire departments
By Melanie Davis
Watauga County firefighters were invited to participate
in a free training course offered by Blue Ridge Electric Membership
Corporation. The live wire training also included a section presented
by the propane subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies.
Pike Electric employees
demonstrate, using a stuffed squirrel, what happens when
animals come into contact with live electrical wires.
Photo by Melanie Davis
Blue Ridge invited each fire department in the county to bring
up to five members for the “train the trainers” presentation
held last week.
“Our guys are well-trained to handle live electricity situations,”
said Grey Scheer, director of community relations. “First-responders
are often present at the same emergencies, such as downed power
lines and storm response. We wanted to offer them training to
protect themselves and the public.”
During the two and one half hour seminar, firefighters and first
responders were presented information packets to assist them for
in-house training of the entire department. Each department received
50 training booklets and brochures, “Look up and Live”
decals to remind truck operators to be aware of overhead power
lines, a 20-minute training DVD, safety posters and a training
guide for dealing with propane emergencies.
Those in attendance watched the video presentation and reviewed
the material. They were encouraged to ask questions and familiarize
themselves with the training material in order to pass the information
along to current and future members.
The training material on electricity outlined hazards in situations
concerning downed lines, transformer fires or substation fires.
The packets provided ways to avoid injury or death from electrocution.
Water, a firefighters main line of defense, is highly conductive
for electrical currents. A straight stream of water onto a potentially
live electrical source could cause electrocution. The video outlined
sources of those electrical sources, and advised firefighters
to call Blue Ridge immediately and use only containment procedures
to prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding areas.
The propane portion of the training dealt mainly with approaching
a propane tanker truck in the case of vehicle collisions. First
responders were given diagrams of each component of the tank system.
A demonstration by John Hall, operations coordinator of Blue Ridge
Energies, was given of shut-off valves with an explanation of
fire hazards posed by the trucks.
Following the propane presentation, a live wire demonstration
was presented by members of Pike Electric, a company contracted
for repair work through Blue Ridge. A mini substation with full-scale
transformers, lines and components was erected in the company’s
warehouse.
Pike employees demonstrated what happens when an animal (stuffed
in this case) comes into contact with the wires. Tree limbs, mylar
balloons and kite string were also used to show the conductivity
of electricity.
Representatives were present from the Beaver Dam, Shawneehaw,
Meat Camp, Foscoe, Beech Mountain, Zionville, Blowing Rock, Cove
Creek, Steward Simmons, Boone and Deep Gap fire departments. A
representative from the Watauga County Fire Marshal’s Office
also attended. Each person in attendance received credit for continuing
education through the Caldwell Community College and Technical
Institute.
This is the first year for training of this type to be offered
by Blue Ridge Electric. Scheer indicated the co-op hopes to be
able to present the information every two years as a refresher
for those members responsible for training.
This year’s event featured a complimentary flashlight for
each participant and dinner catered by Backyard Burgers.
An online learning portal will also be added to the Blue Ridge
Electric Web site, which will contain all of the training materials
for departments to download or order free of charge. A PowerPoint
presentation with facilitator’s notes will also be available
to assist the in-house training of each department.
Deep Gap Volunteer Fire Department chief Mark Parsons described
the seminar as eye-opening. “For a firefighter, the first
instinct can be to put water on it,” he said. “I am
grateful to BREMCO for providing these training materials; it
will help keep these precautions in our minds when arriving on
scene.”
Parsons said the material will likely be presented at the next
station meeting for the Deep Gap department. Although, he plans
to hold multiple training sessions to ensure each member has participated.
Gary Ruppard, assistant chief of the Shawneehaw Volunteer Fire
Department, was also appreciative of the training opportunity.
“In this area we see a lot of propane trucks on the road,”
he said. “You never know when we’ll encounter a situation.
The training materials will be very beneficial for our firefighters
and first responders.”
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