SDG&E worker injured while working near power lines in El Cajon
Posted 3:42 PM, August 15, 2016, by Salvador Rivera and Sandra Phillips, Updated at 07:37pm, August 15, 2016
EL CAJON, Calif. – A worker for San Diego Gas & Electric was injured while on the job in El Cajon Monday, utility officials said.
An SDG&E worker was operating a "cherry picker type" bucket used to work on power lines when the worker was injured, according to City of El Cajon spokeswoman Monica Zech. Heartland Fire crews took the injured worker to a local trauma center believed to be UCSD Medical Center.
"I saw him there was smoke in the bucket and he was yelling to get him down, he was moving his arms and stomping like he was trying to put out a fire," said Christine Austin, who lives across the street from where the accident happened.
SDG&E truck drives away after worker gets injured near power lines.
The employee was working on replacing a single pole when an arc flash occurred (arc flashes are approximately 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Cal/OSHA.
SDG&E spokeswoman Amber Albrecht confirmed the worker was in the area of Shady Lane in El Cajon around 11:30 a.m. Monday, but did not provide details as to what happened to cause the worker to get hurt.
SDG&E released a statement regarding the situation:
“The SDG&E family is saddened to report that one of our employees has been injured and transported to the hospital. There is no higher priority than the safety of our employees and community and we will fully investigate this incident.”
The employee was hospitalized with very serious injuries, according to Cal/OSHA.
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SDG&E Worker Shocked by Power Line in El Cajon
An SDG&E employee was shocked by a power line Monday, according to El Cajon Police.
By R. Stickney
An SDG&E worker was electrocuted and then hospitalized after his crane-operated bucket hit a power line above Shady Lane in El Cajon. NBC 7’s Matt Rascon has more. (Published Monday, Aug. 15, 2016)
A San Diego utility worker made contact with an electrical line Monday and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Police and firefighters were called to Shady Lane at 11:20 a.m. after they received the report of an electrocution.
A San Diego Gas & Electric employee was working in one of the basket of one of the company's vehicles when the employee was shocked by a power line, according to El Cajon Police.
Police would not comment on the worker's condition but did say the patient was transported to UC San Diego Medical Center.
SDG&E employees at the scene would not comment on the incident and referred us to their corporate media representatives.
NBC 7 received a statement from SDG&E:
“The SDG&E family is saddened to report that one of our employees has been injured and transported to the hospital. There is no higher priority than the safety of our employees and community and we will fully investigate this incident.”
people trapped in car after crash with DC fire truck
By Teta Alim August 15, 2016 11:58 pm
WASHINGTON, DC — Two people were trapped in a car after an accident involving a D.C. fire truck in Columbia Heights around 9:30 p.m. Monday, D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted. The crash took place at Holmead Place and Monroe Street Northwest.
The driver and a passenger were extracted from the car. There were three others in the car, but they were not trapped inside. All five occupants have been taken to an area hospital.
Four firefighters have also been evaluated, but they appear to be fine. The truck was on its way to a reported fire.
by Sue Bailey, The Canadian Press
Posted Jul 21, 2016 10:39 am EDT
Last Updated Jul 21, 2016 at 9:00 pm EDT
Jerome Hoskins shop this photo of an oil leak at an abandoned drill site at Shoal Point, Port au Port Bay, in western Newfoundland on May 24, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho-Jerome Hoskins
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The oil has been seeping for about three years — sometimes in drops, sometimes leaving large slicks — fouling a scenic area in western Newfoundland once known for its scallop fishing.
Concerned residents near Shoal Point in Port au Port Bay have tried everything from news releases to photos and video of the bubbling leak from an abandoned exploration well, trying to spur a permanent fix.
“If there was a leak in St. John’s harbour, the coast guard would probably jump on it within hours,” said Bob Diamond of the Port au Port Bay Fishery Committee.
“We don’t really know the impact it’s having. But we know that oil and water and fish and tourism don’t mix.”
What is certain is that the scallop fishery, a once crucial economic driver in the area, has collapsed over the last three years, he said in an interview.
“We’re speculating that it could be as the result of a number of factors: from oil polluting the environment to climate change to acidification of the waters.
“This is a man-made leak,” Diamond said of the well, one of at least 12 abandoned exploration sites in the region that could date to the 1960s or as far back as the 1800s. Oversight and remediation must be stepped up, he added.
Provincial Environment Minister Perry Trimper now says he’s seeking expert advice to deal with the issue. He was not available for an interview Thursday, but confirmed in a statement that his department recently documented minimal seeping along with the smell of oil at Shoal Point.
Despite efforts last fall to cap the well pipes in an area known for fishing and tourism, Trimper said amounts seeping in May were “one drop at a time.”
An official who visited again July 8 “did not see any free oil but did notice an oil odour,” the minister said.
“The department intends to seek expertise to help determine what options are available to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador in order to manage the situation.”
No timeline was offered.
A spokeswoman for Trimper also confirmed the province spent $263,000 last year on “a temporary attempt to control oil leakages.”
An assessment last August by environmental consultant Amec Foster Wheeler — prior to the remediation work last fall — estimated about one litre an hour was seeping.
“Presently and based on the last two departmental inspections, the seepage rate was much less and we continue to look at available options to manage the situation and determine necessary actions,” Chrysta Collins said in a statement.
Diamond said the fishery committee photographed significant sheens still escaping from one of the repaired pipes in May, while a second pipe that had been capped in November appeared to be gone.
“The second pipe apparently had been severed due to ice movement and/or tidal and weather conditions during the winter months,” says a committee update released earlier this month.
There have been natural leaks from oil deposits in the region, but Diamond stressed this problem is a “man-made” issue.
The fishery committee is urging more research to examine the cause of decimated scallop stocks and pollution risks to the broader marine ecosystem. It wants more regulatory oversight and public consultation before future oil and gas exploration is approved.
And it wants Ottawa and the province to more clearly outline which agencies are responsible for cleaning up oil leaks and abandoned sites.
A long-term fix is way overdue, Diamond said.
“We’d like to see an inventory done of the sites, where they are, what kind of condition they’re in and remedial action to fix any leaks that are occurring.”
Gas lines being tested around site of Silver Spring apartment explosion
By Nick Iannelli | @NickWTOP August 15, 2016 12:24 pm
Emergency personnel view the scene of an apartment building fire in Silver Spring, Md., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Utility crews went Monday morning to the scene of the Silver Spring explosion to test gas lines that are situated around the apartment complex where the deadly blast occurred last week.
Apartment explosion in Silver Spring
An explosion and fire occurred at the Flower Branch Apartments, on Piney Branch Road in Silver Spring, Aug. 10, 2016. See photos. Employees with Washington Gas could be seen walking around the perimeter of the apartment site holding pieces of equipment.
“They wanted to do some pressure testing of some of the mains in the area,” said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer. “They’ve already been through all the occupied apartments checking people’s appliances and that sort of thing.”
“We will have fire and rescue crews here monitoring the situation,” he said.
Investigators have not released an official cause of the fire and explosion last week at the Flower Branch apartments, although they suspect a natural gas leak was involved.
Residents complained about smelling gas days before the explosion, even prompting firefighters to respond July 25 to look into the odor.
So far, five bodies have been pulled from the rubble at the scene, and authorities say at least three more people are missing.
Search and recovery efforts are ongoing.
“All that debris and everything that’s removed has to be documented, so there is a lot of that work going on,” Piringer said.
About 100 people were displaced in the incident, officials said last week.
