What happens when powerlines fall on a chainlink fence

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And not a single person attempted to whiz on the fence. I am dissapoint.

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Meanwhile, in more developed countries, the power would immediately cut off from the wire, probably even before it hits the ground (but at least within milliseconds after grounding)…

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Am I the only one who noticed that deck is in serious need of stain?

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I would guess that electricity isn’t the only hazard here. Poisoning from zinc vapor would also worry me.

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Fire department standing there with their arms folded: Boy, this sucks. We’re of no help right now and I wish that guy would turn his camera off…

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This is reminding me of the Halloween that two overhead transformers caught fire (probably due to lightning) and the lines went down over the contiguous chain link fence that marks out the property lines for the entire block (no alleys or walkways between the back-to-back buildings, just tiny rectangles of grass or concrete) so we had firefighters working all night in total black-out conditions in the rain – having to go through whichever buildings gave them access to their back areas and of course they couldn’t climb over the fence to get where they wanted to go – while everyone shooed kids away from the area and no one dared touch ANYTHING outside. Good times.

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Guess they forgot to fill up their water truck.

Best fire dept. incident I’ve seen is the time I was out with an engineering crew smoking sewers, which is where you take a powerful fan, fit it over a manhole, stick some smoke bombs into a compartment on the side, and you fill the sewers/drainage system with smoke, then look around for plumes so you can go mark the ground where repairs are needed.

About five minutes after we started up the fan, this family and some workmen run frantically out of a house. Two minutes later, the town’s entire fire department shows up. Turns out the daughter of the fire chief lived there, and was having some plumbing work done which involved removing her toilet when smoke suddenly comes pouring out of the hole. It sucked for them, but the best part was seeing the reaction of the plumbers who couldn’t believe or understand how they had managed to screw up so badly.

We figured it out pretty quick and went to calm the situation down. No damage. Everybody was relieved and had a good laugh.

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Water + Electricity = Bigger Problem.

Same with a grease fire, before you go splashing that all over your kitchen.

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Yeah, I know. I like to play the idiot thinking people will get it, but this is the internet we’re talking about.

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At the very least, you’d think they could call the power company, identify themselves as the fire department, and tell them to shut off the power. If the power company needed any extra incentive, just let them listed to the sound of the electricity playing with the swing set. “Light a fire under the electrical technicians” to hurry them up, if you will.

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I don’t know if that’s always the case. Persons still die yearly in FL from downed power lines after hurricanes have run through.

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Well, that’s definitely one way to keep the neighborhood kids and pets out of your yard.

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Strange as it may seem, Florida does not count as a “more developed country”.

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What happens when powerlines fall on a chainlink fence

First I was on the fence regarding this hair-raising issue, but then I had a shocking revelation. It hit me like an epiphany.
Is the Teutonic seeming spelling of power lines gaining currency?
This is no way to conduct oneself.
I hope whoever was responsible got grounded.

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They likely did call, but systems aren’t set up like that. When there’s a break it naturally wants to keep energy flowing around if possible. The local transformers are designed to trip if needed when things get out of control but there isn’t a large switch that they can control from afar, they need to pull a guy off another job and drive over there to deal with it. And they’re not the fire department, who arrive in five minutes because they spend all day in the firehouse.

Nobody was getting hurt, so they were getting there as fast as they probably could. Maybe.

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As an ex Floridian, I can jokingly agree, but FPL does a fair job considering. Building codes and power standards meet strict needs.

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They’re at least keeping the public away. Power panel shorted at a food cart pod I was visiting, and when the fireworks started (giant flames shooting out the top of the conduit attached to the utility pole) patrons actually crowded around to watch the show. I couldn’t get enough distance between our group and that conflagration. No standing under power any of the local power lines, either.

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