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ElectricityClimb to the rescue position
To reach a worker hurt on a pole, the rescuer climbs with the company's rescue equipment and procedure and with fall protection. OSHA checks that the people assigned have been trained and have shown they can climb the pole and make the rescue, even if it means going inside the minimum approach distance of an exposed energized line.
Free to startScenarios
- A wood pole with the injured worker at the top.
- A tower or similar structure that supports overhead lines.
- Ice, high winds or contaminants on the structure that could make you lose your grip or footing.
The steps
- Bring the company's equipment for reaching an injured worker who is on a pole or otherwise difficult to rescue.
- Check your work-positioning equipment before you climb.
- Use fall protection while climbing or changing location on the pole, unless the employer has shown it is infeasible or a greater hazard.
- Climb with the rescue procedure your company trained you in.
- Keep the minimum approach distance from energized parts unless you are insulated from them.
- If the rescue means going inside the minimum approach distance of an exposed energized line, do it only with the training and proven proficiency the procedure requires.
Safety rules that stop the station
- Employees who have not yet shown proficiency in climbing and in using fall protection are not qualified climbers: they use fall protection any time they are more than 4 feet above the ground.
To pass
- The rescuer has been trained and has demonstrated proficiency in using the rescue equipment and procedures to climb the pole and make the rescue.
- That proficiency was demonstrated before the training was considered complete.
Official source
Federal · OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.269
Interpretation of the electric power standard (June 4, 1996)
OSHA publishes free its June 4, 1996 interpretation of 1910.269: first aid, CPR within 4 minutes and rescue from the pole in the field.
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