Posted on 07/16/2007 3:35:05 PM PDT by george76
Firefighters weren't sure what was causing the smoke rising from a former discount store in this Baltimore suburb. The place had been abandoned for years, the interior stripped to the walls.
When they got inside July 2, they found only one thing burning: a 41-year-old man who became engulfed in flames and died after cutting through a high-voltage line.
Sean Phelps became another ghastly casualty of what authorities say is a deadly national trend: copper wiring thefts.
High copper prices in recent years have thieves breaking into power plants and abandoned factories to rip out the wiring. Vandals are even stealing from gravesites.
There is no national count of people killed in copper theft attempts, but news accounts put the death toll at about two dozen over the past 12 months.
When Phelps cut the wire carrying at least 220 volts, he was hit with a powerful electrical arc, similar to what happens when lightning strikes or a transformer blows.
Most copper thefts are nuisances, such as a recent rash at a Maryland youth baseball park that has left Little Leaguers without lights for night games.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Darwin award winner!
All justice should be so swift.
The govt needs to provide free voltmeters to copper thieves.
The family will sue and win bigtime. Who cares if it was illegal.
Fluke is your friend . . .
This is a little 25 buck item I always have in my shirt pocket when I'm working with wiring. Just hold it next to the circuit and it'll tell you if it's live. It's a double check after tagging out the circuit, just to make sure I did the right one . . .
We also have the big Fluke multi-meter. What a godsend that is! (it ain't 25 bucks though!)
Nope - already had nine kids.
34 brass panels on a World War II memorial were stripped earlier this month.
No, sir, not enough have been killed.
Might sue the power company for failing to shut off the power I suppose.
I hope all thieves get killed.
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Markets are amazing, eh?
The man had a police scanner, which indicates to me he has cost a lot of people a lot of money with his thefts. It’s not his first time. Other people have struggled and suffered to cover the cost of what this man and others like him stole.
I remember a woman on Fox the other day, devastated because someone stole her daughter’s memorial plaque. As with all stolen goods, the money the thief gets is small compared to what the owner has to pay to replace.
I don’t have that much sympathy.
Disqualified for a Darwin Award. Unfortunately, his defective genes have already been passed on.
So, how is it that the juice is still on?
My hubby is a radio amateur and took EE courses for fun at GA Tech (he was a Chem major but all his friends were EEs) and he'd never heard of Wiggy (I googled it and saw it's been around since 1918), he's always used Fluke.
Here's a report I ran across -- Undocumented Electrical Jumper Causes Mild Shock
An electrician performed a safe condition check with a portable voltage tester, commonly called a "Wiggy," and no voltage was found. The electricians started work and found two wires supplying the receptacle. An additional safe condition check with a Wiggy was performed to verify that no voltage was present. The cover was then removed from a junction box in that circuit, and a third safe condition check was performed with a Wiggy. No voltage was indicated. The electricians disconnected the receptacle from the existing wiring, removed the receptacle box from the wall, and installed the new receptacle. While making the final terminations, an electrician felt a "tingle" in his hand. Work was stopped, and another safe condition check was performed with a Wiggy. No voltage was indicated. Another check was performed with a high-impedance (Fluke) multimeter, and 111 volts were found in the outlet wires. . . . The initial voltage checks failed to detect electric potential in circuit #6 because the high impedance of the transformer limited the current flow to less than that detectable by the Wiggy voltage tester.
Somebody ought to slap whoever put the jumper on there though!
Ro 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Odd, my wiggy picks up that voltage no problem. Yeah, it’s not the best tool available, but I could afford it, and it’s never saved my life or anything because I try to follow proper procedures, but I still use it just in case. Not for stealing copper, though!
A Texas Democrat state rep recently shot someone who was trying to steal copper from his construction site.
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