ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION
1200 W. WASHINGTON
PHOENIX, AZ. 85007

TO: EDITORS, NEWS DIRECTORS
DATE: March 28, 1997

FOR: IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jon Poston, (602) 542-0843

CAUTION - - - POWER LINES ARE DEADLY

Two Arizonans have been killed since the first of the year, and a third critically injured, in accidents in which ladders or other equipment came in contact with power lines. "The tragedy of these accidents need not have taken place," said Corporation Commission Chairman Carl Kunasek. "The Overhead Power Line Safety Law prohibits use of a ladder within six feet or mechanized equipment within ten feet of a high voltage line like those found along most streets," said Steven Olea, Chief of Engineering for the Arizona Corporation Commission. "Power companies will cooperate closely with homeowners and businesses who need to work near electric lines by insulating or turning off those lines to avoid the danger of electrocution," Olea said.

There have been seven incidents reported to the Commission since the beginning of the year in which ladders or other equipment came in contact with power lines. This is a sharp increase from the ten incidents, including two fatalities, reported to the Commission for all of 1996.

The first incident resulting in a fatality occurred March 1st in Golden Valley, near Kingman, when billboard company worker Richard Stratton touched a power line with a piece of metal conduit he was using to hang a sign. Stratton was flown to a Las Vegas hospital where he died nine days later.

The second fatal incident took place in Show Low on March 7th, when a ladder being used by painters Clifford Havercamp and Donald Shurter came in contact with a power line. Havercamp was declared dead on arrival at a Show Low hospital, while Shurter remains hospitalized in Phoenix.

The remaining accidents, in Surprise, Bagdad, Phoenix and Tempe were not serious enough to require hospitalization of the person who came in contact with the power line. The Overhead Power Line Safety Law provides for fines up to $1,000 per violation for persons who work within the prohibited zone around a power line without notifying the utility that owns the line.