Our electric line crews oversee and maintain more than 3,800 miles of electric distribution lines and more than 200 miles of transmission lines in all kinds of weather conditions. Some of these lines are overhead and some underground – with each posing unique challenges and safety risks.
The skills and responsibilities required of lineworkers are often taken for granted when electricity is flowing uninterrupted to homes and businesses, but not many jobs carry the same level of risk or impact on a community.
Thankfully, our electric lineworkers undergo years of training to refine their craft, enhance safety practices and prepare for situations when a life-threatening injury occurs. Much of this training continues throughout a lineworker’s career.
In early August, our electric line crews continued a long-standing partnership with the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) to complete the 5th annual, two-day Electric Trauma Training program. For the first time in the program’s existence, a Flight for Life team also participated in the training and a mock rescue exercise.
More than 100 electric line employees attended this year’s event, along with four CSFD firefighters and three members from Flight for Life.
The two-day training included smaller groups of employees rotating through seven stations – each one reflecting a different trauma scenario. This rotation included a “hurt man rescue” exercise where a lineworker must quickly assess an injured colleague while high on a power pole and then bring that colleague safely to the ground.
Beyond the hurt man rescue, the stations provided employees an opportunity to practice EMS notifications, conduct initial injury assessments, perform CPR, apply a tourniquet and pack a wound.
“Due to the nature of line work, our crews can encounter a lot of different trauma cases and rescue situations,” said John Rombeck, Electric Training & Safety Specialist. “It’s important that our training programs provide hands-on experiences that create mental and muscle memory because time is of the essence in a real-life trauma event.”
Rombeck says partnerships with CSFD and now Flight for Life are vital to ensuring that lives are saved.
“Collaborating with CSFD and now Flight for Life for training programs ensures that communications preferences and protocols are established well before a real crisis hits,” said Rombeck. “We are incredibly thankful for these relationships and the care these professionals bring to their jobs. The guidance and wisdom of our first responders gives us peace of mind as we do our jobs each day.”
According to Rombeck, with each year that passes, the training program continues to improve and evolve, thanks to feedback from both employees and first responders.