The thread was about Ken Mitchell Waddell's accident. The whole 70 ft tower
collapsed with him fastened to the top. There was no PPE failure, apparently
a guy cable shackle broke.
John KK9A
From: Patrick Greenlee NJ5G
Ive been up a few towers and to the masthead of some sailboats (at least the
towers don't rock and roll like a sailboat.) I heard the old timers say,
"one hand for the ship and one hand for yourself." A very good rule is to
have a harness with two lanyards, one of which is fastened to a secure part
of what you are climbing AT ALL TIMES.
Always hook up lanyard #2 before unfastening lanyard #1 and vice versa. At
least one lanyard must be attached at all times, This is sometimes
inconvenient, may slow progress, may attract "smart" comments from the
peanut gallery, but it can save your life.
In some situations and configurations carabiners can be upset and detached
by accident. (I can demo but a description could take volumes so just trust
me, they can unhook in some situations or configurations.) Use the
carabiner-like "hooks" with the manual safety that you have to depress to be
able to open the hook. Less convenient but will keep you safe. You want
convenience and don't mind dying to prove it, ignore suggestions such as
above.
Patrick NJ5G
On 10/19/2018 11:52 AM, Art Roberts wrote:
Very interesting and TRUE comments. ALL hams should have this imprinted on
their brain.
Years ago, I did some tower work for our repeater club, as well the Fire
Department radio shop I worked for. Most of the work was between 600 feet
and
1450 feet. Needless to say, staying belted was mandatory. What did help was
the
elevator inside the tower. BUT, once you left the safety of that device, you
were in the open framework.
As a former EMT, stay safe and stay secure!!
73,
Art
W1AER
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk <towertalk-bounces@contesting.com> On Behalf Of Keith Dutson
Sent: October 19, 2018 10:01 AM
To: Tower Talk <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Learning from tragedies
I learned in the local citizen's fire academy that people who jump from the
third floor of a hotel usually survive, while people above that usually
perish.
This is a good thing to remember when staying in a hotel, as most high-rise
hotels reserve one or two rooms on lower floors for firemen who demand a
lower
floor.
Another statistic indicates falling from a height of 50 feet is the dividing
line between life
and death. So, I always think, "If I climb to 50 feet and fall, I will not
die, but will
likely be maimed for life." <grin>
Bottom line: ALWAYS STAY CONNECTED 100 PERCENT OF TIME SPENT CLIMBING A
TOWER
I usually walk around the tower base and guy wire anchors looking for any
signs
of failure before starting a climb.
I am now thinking about purchasing a fall-arrest lanyard to use during a
climb.
This should help prevent serious injury in case of a climbing error.
73, Keith NM5G
Age 76, and still climbing...
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk <towertalk-bounces@contesting.com> On Behalf Of Steve Lott
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2018 6:25 AM
To: jcjacobsen@q.com
Cc: k4kyv@hotmail.com; towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Learning from tragedies
Ask any Trauma Doctor
They will tell you the stats on Falls
"Above 40 feet is 50% Fatal"
Always stay attached
Climb and Descend with precision
Steve
KG5VK
http://www.KG5VK.com
My Ham Radio Friends
On Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 5:57 PM jcjacobsen@q.com <jcjacobsen@q.com> wrote:
Don, K4KYV, was reminiscing about putting a tower up by himself years ago.
At one point he said:
"You will likely be just as dead falling from 30' as falling from 130'."
I have a friend that used to crawl towers in his younger days. He used
to say the same thing, but always added: " The only difference is from
130'
you get just a little longer to enjoy the view".
Don't know if that was a fatalist point of view, or just being realistic.
73
Jake K9WN
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