Posted: January 12, 2008
PG&E Lineman Felipe Chavez, 31, was killed while working to restore power in the Auburn area on Jan. 11.
Chavez, from the Stockton area,
was on a power pole along Highway 193 near Cool, east of Auburn, when he was
electrocuted about 1:45 p.m. Fellow crew members pulled Chavez off the pole,
but medics were unable to revive him, according to news reports. Chavez was
pronounced dead at the scene.
PG&E employees working on
storm damage were placed on emergency stand down following the accident.
Local 1245 offers its condolences
to the friends, family and co-workers of Brother Felipe Chavez.
* * *
After learning of the death
of Felipe Chavez, Local 1245 received this e-mail from former PG&E
Troubleman Bruce Hayden. It is reprinted here with Hayden’s permission, as a
tribute to IBEW members who have given their lives in the service of their
communities.
Tonight I sit in the dark again. The laptop battery will soon run out. For much of this last week we have been out of power and when it has been restored we are still not certain that it will not go out again.
PG&E crews have been restoring the power incrementally over the past week. Each time they restore a section for power it has to be tested and if there is still a problem the line tests bad (NG), they have to “sectionalize” to test again to determine just where the problem may be. This can be aggravating for those of us who have just got used to being back on power after a few days, but even worse for the crew members who are trying to repair all the damage this storm has brought.
Tonight though it is different. Late this afternoon a
lineman was fatally injured while working to restore our power. Some of you may
know that I worked over 40 years as lineman, troubleshooter and line
construction foreman in this area. When the power went out I assumed that it
was again the testing of the line in the process of restoration. I found out
the line went out because of an electrical contact which was fatal for a
lineman working restoring out power.
I had gone to put gas in our car just as the power went out and Cindy called me on my cell phone saying a friend from the local fire department called to tell her that a lineman had been killed knowing that he may have been someone I worked with. For those of us who are or have been in the trade this hits us hard. In many ways we are like many other emergency workers, an extended brotherhood. We have shared those long hours in difficult conditions. We are always aware of the dangers inherent in our jobs. None of us have not been touched by fellow workers who have suffered serious, or worse, fatal injuries. It is a the nature of the trade. Even so we accept this as a reality and continue on with a pride that comes with doing something that others shy away from.
Our humor could be harsh and outrageous as the conditions that we worked under. Respect was earned, not gratuitously given. We were and are as much different from each other as could be, much more so than other occupations. But we shared something that others do not, a camaraderie of trust in when things got tough you are there. You are a team of diverse ornery, outspoken, testosterone poisoned individuals. You could bicker and fight among each other but put it all aside when the s**t hits the fan.
When one falls, as happened this evening, we have lost a brother. I felt this even though I am no longer a part of the team. This unknown young man—I do not yet know his name—is very much in my thoughts, a loss in for the family that I was a part of for over 40 years. I think of this as I sit here in the dark.
Bruce Hayden
Garden Valley, CA