Electrical fire

[Piper]

Being a troubleshooter for an electric utility company, those scenes are old hat to me. Weather can wreak havoc on equipment, and sometimes it seems as if the electric gods get restive, and blow things up just to entertain themselves. Two nights ago I spent some time hanging by the seat of my pants off of a pole behind some houses in order to cut a pole mounted transformer clear after lightning had made a mess of things. Obviously my job does not lend itself to working kilted.
The fireman who's hanging back while the guy in t shirt and jeans checks things out is following procedure. Police and fire personnel are taught to stay clear of utility equipment until we check things out and tell them its' safe. Since the guy in the hard hat is only wearing a t shirt, I'm assuming he already received confirmation that the primary circuit was locked out. If not, he's a damned fool. There's a lot more protective gear required if you're opening live equipment, especially if it's in trouble.