Linemen are a vital part of the utility industry, working day in and day out to keep our communities powered—often while facing serious dangers on the job. In appreciation of National Linemen Appreciation Day, we’re sharing an article that highlights the very real hazards linemen encounter.
The article was written by Scott Sligh, Technical Representative in Alabama, at a previous job in the field in response to an unfortunate incident. In this incident, of his employees at the time was burned despite doing everything correctly. His story underscores how unpredictable and high‑risk this work can be, even when safety protocols are followed.
In one of my favorite movies, Tombstone, one of the more colorful characters is Doc Holliday, played by Val Kilmer. This movie is full of great one-liners and one of the more memorable ones is "I'm your Huckleberry." Doc Holiday is portrayed to be bold, fearless, witty, strong and tougher than nails. Doc Holliday was a cowboy. Our perception of cowboys is that they could shoot, ride, were daring, not afraid, tough, took care of their own and were just generally cool dudes. Many young boys have pretended to be the cowboys when playing cowboys and Indians. The cowboys ruled the Wild West and they shaped it. You'd have to go out to a ranch somewhere to find a real cowboy with these attributes now. Or would you?
One previous HR manager I worked with hated my employees and her exact statement to me was, "Your guys just think they're cowboys!" My reply was something like, "They are." Do they walk with a little swagger? Yes they do. They have one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs in the world and they know it. It takes a special mindset to do what they do and I don't apologize for their attitudes-they get killed if they don't have it." But little boys don't pretend to be linemen when they are playing. Why? Nobody really knows what they do. People's perceptions of them are that they make lots of money and they see them working with large pieces of very specialized equipment when the power is out. That seems ironic to me. When things are working right, you never see the linemen. When the power is out, you do see them. You never see, hear, or smell the evil they work with day in and day out … Electricity.
Electricity is considered by most people as a necessity. It started out as a luxury. Early on, people were so happy and considered themselves fortunate to get it. Now, we can't live without it. The world economy would collapse without electricity. We created electricity and it hides and waits like an ambush predator. We harness it and force it to do what we want it to because we made it. But yet, it waits. We use it for all kinds of things from cooking to manufacturing to entertaining ourselves. It does all that because we make it perform our will but yet, it lies in wait. Even though we can't see it, we touch it. It is patient and it still waits. What is it waiting for? It's waiting to hurt someone. It doesn't care who you are or what you look like. It doesn't care about your religious preference, your sexual preference, your age, your gender, your background, or how you voted. It doesn't even care if you are a human or not. It is truly the perfect Equal Opportunity candidate. But it is pure evil and it is scary.
Our society recognizes those we consider as heroes who risk life and limb. We recognize firemen, policemen, our military and others. We don't even think about linemen until the power goes out, and even then some people are just plain mad about it so they don't care how the power gets back on. We don't want to be inconvenienced with having the power go out, so linemen go manhandle the evil beast every day to make that happen. We rarely thank them. Instead, some gripe about how much they make and complain that it isn't fair. Trade places with one of them and see if the lurking evil scares you. It's not for everyone. Linemen risk life and limb every time they walk out the door to do their work. We train them, teach them, practice, buy safety equipment for them, all to try and protect one of the most valuable resources in the electric industry … the linemen. Still, all that is sometimes not enough and the evil escapes our control. Linemen lose their lives. Linemen lose arms, legs, fingers and toes. Linemen get burned and go through the process of skin grafts. One of our own was injured this week through no fault of his own. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the evil beast was waiting for him. He didn't want anyone to be inconvenienced, so he mustered up and engaged the enemy: If you ask him about it, he'd do it again.Scott Sligh
Lineman do not walk blindly into their profession. They know what they are signing up for when they decide this is what they will do as a career. Why do they risk it all? They do it because they are modern cowboys and they love what they do. The next time you see a lineman, stop and thank them for they are heroes among us, albeit unsung ones.
Gresco is proud to partner with Line Brother’s Keeper at our annual Music City Showcase in Nashville, Tennessee. Line Brother’s Keeper is dedicated to supporting linemen injured in workplace accidents. To learn more or make a donation, visit LineBrothersKeeper.org.