Re: Oh Sh** Moment

[Frank Olson <Use-the-email-links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim Rojas wrote:
> I was working on a 440V 1500 Amp fire water pump in NYC 20+ years ago.
> Building super swore he shut off the power. Luckily I treat it like it
> was live anyway. My screwdriver slipped out of my hands and melted in
> half when it hit the power terminals...all I saw was a blue flash...I
> could not see anything but blue for hours...my fault for trusting
> someone else like that. I was connecting relays to monitoring pump run,
> and pump power failure for the gravity tank on the roof. I took the rest
> of the day off... :)
>
> Jim Rojas


Having seen (and worked on more than a few fire pump controllers), you
musta been pokin' around in the wrong part of the cabinet.  In my
experience the low voltage connections are usually at the bottom and the
high voltage terminals are protected (and physically separated at the
top)...  Mind you, the oldest unit I've serviced is around 18 years old.
  Please verify for yourself that power is indeed turned off before
working on any high voltage equipment.  I made the same mistake myself a
number of years ago (only it wasn't a fire pump) and "trusted" a
nincompoop electrician when he said...  "Don't worry, the power's off".