Fairhope, Alabama
Mayor Kant told the city council an investigation revealed the failure of "old, worn out" wooden braces caused the accidental electrocution of electric department lineman Greg McCoy last December: the braces broke and the live wires fell onto McCoy's back.
Kant: " ... it wasn't the fault of our procedures or policies ... it was old worn out material ... that we are replacing."
Some possible factors cited in the report itself:
1. Insufficient brace strength when originally designed/installed.
2. Inability to compute load bearing potential of braces.*
3. Degradation of braces over time (they had worn by 20%).
4. Failure to recognize the potential for simultaneous brace failures (multiple braces failed at once).
Injured worker McCoy is still recovering: undergoing physical rehabilitation.
*The report indicated that there is no load-bearing data available for the 30-plus year old existing braces, making accurate weight-bearing calculations impossible.
Mayor Kant told the city council an investigation revealed the failure of "old, worn out" wooden braces caused the accidental electrocution of electric department lineman Greg McCoy last December: the braces broke and the live wires fell onto McCoy's back.
Kant: " ... it wasn't the fault of our procedures or policies ... it was old worn out material ... that we are replacing."
Some possible factors cited in the report itself:
1. Insufficient brace strength when originally designed/installed.
2. Inability to compute load bearing potential of braces.*
3. Degradation of braces over time (they had worn by 20%).
4. Failure to recognize the potential for simultaneous brace failures (multiple braces failed at once).
Injured worker McCoy is still recovering: undergoing physical rehabilitation.
*The report indicated that there is no load-bearing data available for the 30-plus year old existing braces, making accurate weight-bearing calculations impossible.
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