BY TIMOTHY LA ROCHE
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — When strong winds topple trees over electrical lines or power surges ignite the coolant inside transformers, a daylight-like blue flash can spell danger for anyone in the area.
It’s a not-uncommon scene during both summer storms and heavy snowfall. In fact, for the greater part of the last decade, electrical issues have been one of the leading causes of fires in the United States, responsible for about 16 percent of the fire deaths between 2010 and 2014.
But even during the worst electrical fires, not everyone runs in the opposite direction.
Last week, 15 members of the Claremont Fire Department’s career and call teams attended training to safely operate around electrical wires during such emergencies. Eversource, one of the state’s largest electrical companies, provided the training free of charge on-site at the fire station, addressing what Fire Chief Bryan Burr called one of the more common calls to which the department responds.
“A lot of the times, these are what start brush fires when you get dry conditions in the early spring,” Burr said of electrical issues. “You get a transformer that blows and drops metal fragments that are hot, or you get a line that’s broken when a tree comes down and it starts a brush fire.”
The training consisted of a 90-minute lecture followed by hands-on training that made use of Eversource’s custom mock-up of a power line.
Eversource crews hooked the props up to a generator to demonstrate how the lines react in different situations – touching a hot dog to the line at one point to demonstrate what might happen were an animal to come in contact.
“Basically, they power this up like it’s a transmission line out on the street,” Burr said. “It’s like there’s a squirrel on the line or someone’s touching the line. They show the arcing.”
Members of the Unity Volunteer Fire Department, Newport Fire Department, Ascutney Volunteer Fire Department, Charlestown Fire Department and Cornish Fire Department also attended the training.
“It’s an eye-opening experience for the guys that haven’t had a lot of exposure to blown transformers and arcing fuses and things like that,” Burr said. “Because it started with a high tension line, there are dangers that we have to be cognizant of. We don’t want to expose our people to 7,200 volts or more.”
Follow Timothy LaRoche on Facebook at Eagle Times – Timothy LaRoche, or on Twitter at @TimothyLaRoche.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.