I had been in business for myself for just a few years when the Spokane area received the blessings of Ice Storm.  The storm was so eventful, that today it is just referred to as Ice Storm, indicating there is nothing with which to confuse it.

The storm had coated the overhead lines and made them so heavy the power poles broke off up and down the roads out in The Valley.  Trees came down on top of the power lines and knocked many of them down.  Services were pulled off of the walls of houses and laid down in the yards.  Many times the meters stayed intact and the power lines remained energized.

The storm was hardly over and we were out in the field looking at needed repair work.  When we walked across the yards the grass was coated in ice.  It felt like we were walking on peanut shells.

The Utility companies were recommending electrical contractors for the repair work, and AdenBecks was on the list.  This was a very nice validation of our work quality, as we were just a small shop with two journeymen and two apprentices.  It gave us plenty of work for many months.  In fact we completed the last repair about one year later.  That particular residence had not had their power lines or service destroyed.  However the lines were resting on their roof so repairs were necessary, just not an emergency.

We had equipped ourselves with current detectors that would tell us which lines were energized.  We could lay the tip of the detector against the outside of the wire.  On high voltage lines the detector signaled power just by getting close to the wire.

We heard of one man that was killed by walking across the wire on the ground.  It didn’t take us long to make a habit of carrying the detectors in our hand when we went where the lines were down.

One person called us to say they couldn’t go to work because the power lines were draped across their driveway about eye level.  Their car was in the garage and they didn’t know what to do.  When I arrived I looked from across the road and thought to myself; “Those are telephone wires.”

I was gauging my determination on the apparent size of the wire.  I walked over and grasped the wire with my hand and broke off some of the ice.  Ooops.  The ice on the wire had only made them appear to be telephone lines.  Instead they were the high voltage lines.  They were also de-energized.

I propped the lines up with some 2x4s and the residents drove their car out under the lines.  I removed the 2x4s and advised them to park in the street until the power company got things straightened out.

I could have ended my career right then and there because of a lack of caution.

Besides being regulated by the National Electric Code and Inspectors, electricians must keep safety regulations in mind.  We must continue to be up-dated on safety matters.  Records must be kept on safety meetings and we must have a safety regimen.  Sometimes the reason behind the safety measure is not immediately apparent.

I mentioned previously how I was puzzled about how to use a two foot step ladder when you’re not supposed to stand on the top two steps.  However, I have received injuries due to not strictly obeying safety regulations.

One time I leaned the top of a ladder against an overhead beam.  Though it may have been at the correct angle, the feet of the ladder slipped on the oil slick floor.  I landed flat on my feet.  Boy did the bottoms of my feet hurt.  I went to emergency.  They x-rayed my feet and found I had no broken bones.  The doctor said I should stay off my feet for a week.

I replied; “I can’t stay off my feet for a week.  I’ll lose my business.”  It took about three weeks for my feet to heal.

Another time I was drilling through wood and the drill bit chipped off the edge of a nail and the piece flew into my eye.  I was wearing glasses, but not safety glasses.  The doctor removed the metal shard from my eye with a magnet.  An easy fix, to be sure, but painful.

Previous to that experience, I had been pointing up a chimney on a windy day.  (That’s an expression that indicates the replacement of mortar between bricks which has worn away with time and age.)  I got some sand in my eye.  Sand is what is used to make glass.  It is very uncomfortable in your eye.  And if it gets too deep into your eye socket there is no remediation.

The doctor gave me some salve to ease the pain.  Every year it would work out a ways and I would have to use the salve again.  Eventually it either wore down or fell out.

Safety glasses are a good idea.

Not related to work safety, I have totaled a car and wound up in the hospital with half my teeth, broken ribs and punctured lungs.  I have had a heart attack and a stroke (on the same weekend).  I have had pneumonia a number of times.  I’m not sure how much more abuse my body can take from carelessness.

I can tell more stories about near misses.

Maybe I will.

When I first started working in the electrical trade we paid no attention to licensing, permits, inspection or unions.  Mostly we worked on farms.  Farmers are great innovators!  They usually do anything that needs to be done.  Most of the farm wind chargers were wired by the farmers themselves.  We were just an extension of that do-it-yourself mentality.

When the R.E. A. (Rural Electrical Administration) came to the farms, bringing power to the outlying areas, electrical work came under the auspices and oversight of the Federal Government.  It was difficult for many individuals to submit to that oversight.  Even today after many decades there is still a deep seated resentment towards electrical oversight, especially regarding permits, licenses, and registration.

The National Electric Code was first implemented in the 1800s.  Most of the time, it had only been enforced in cities.  Starting there we have become more and more regulated.  As an electrician, starting in North Dakota and moving into Montana and then on to Washington and Idaho, I had to have more and more licenses.

It was also necessary to become familiar (QUITE familiar) with the NEC code book.  Just as soon as you get it figured out, it is adjusted and revised, every three years.  The changes involve new regulations and laws, and dropping or rewording regulations.  There have been times where after three years of considering, discussing, offering amendments etc. a new code change is implemented.  A great deal of people whine and complain about it, and three years later the code is changed again; back to its original form.  And you have to keep up with the whole process.

After about 35 years experience in the trade, work dropped off considerably.  Instead of choosing to travel around the country (have electrical tool box – will travel), my wife and I decided to start our own business.  We were tired of being broke and out of work.  Starting our own business cured the “out of work” part of the equation.

It was easier said than done.  To get my Washington Electrical Administrators license I had to pass 4 sections with a passing grade.  I had to test a total of 8 times to get the final O.K. to run an electrical contracting business.  It cost about $500.00.

At one time I was keeping seven licenses current.  Keeping inspectors satisfied, customers satisfied, and general contractors satisfied came to be a major part of my life.  To this day, I have to take “up-dates” on a regular basis to keep my licenses existent.

I did manage to build up a good customer base before I turned the business over to my sons.

Some inspectors have been a joy to work with.  Others, not so much.  Then one day one of my daughters married an exceptionally sharp man.  He studied the code book and became an inspector.  Now he teaches electricians and inspectors.  Our company now has the respect of inspectors and customers alike.  The inspectors have come to trust our understanding of the code.

My how things have changed for this barefooted North Dakota farm boy!