All carriers and tower owners support the need for a safe environment for tower techs, but T-Mobile has unfailingly gone the extra mile in its deeds and donations. The un-carrier, consistently ranked for having the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network speeds for its 72-million-plus subscribers, has quickly and deservedly captured a reputation for having the greatest concern for the safety of …
Texas space program post says student was never in danger while climbing tower
A representative of the Eldorado Space Program, an Eldorado, Tex. high school program that teaches students to design instrumentation packages and launch them into space, said on its Facebook page Saturday that a cover story photograph in the March edition of QST published by the National Association for Amateur Radio, represented an inaccurate, unsafe depiction of a student climbing a …
Cover girl climber shot could send high schoolers to their death
Commentary – The March issue of a well-respected magazine published by The National Association for Amateur Radio (ARRL) will most likely latch onto the literal lunacy award for depicting in a photograph the most egregious tie-off violations one could imagine. In QST’s latest edition, their antenna issue, the cover shows a picture of Chase Mertz of Eldorado, Tex. climbing a …
Tower technician is seriously injured when a staged monopole section collapses on him
Update: February 10, 2017 – According to a tower technician who visited the hospital yesterday evening where Tobi Koons is being treated for his injuries, Koons is still in serious condition and is expected to be in ICU for at least a week. Two tower technicians who are friends with Koons, informed Wireless Estimator that he is employed by Mission 1 Communications of …
Coax reel takes off down a highway in the direction of a tower
A number of Wireless Estimator viewers directed us to a YouTube video of a freewheeling reel of what they believe is coaxial cable rolling down Route 40, heading east into Uniontown yesterday morning in Fayette County, Pa. You can view it in real-time, 10 times the speed and slow motion. A cell phone video captures the alarming wrong-way travels of …
Welding crew kayos two carriers on Winnipeg airport cell tower
The U.S. doesn’t have exclusivity of crews burning down monopoles while welding, as witnessed Thursday in Winnipeg, Can. when a cell tower providing services to MTS and Telus Mobility subscribers caught fire at the Richardson International Airport . An individual, knowledgeable of the incident, informed Wireless Estimator that a crew was cutting new portholes on the monopole when the transmission …
Deceased tech was not near work area when he fell
UPDATE: December 13, 2016 – According to a representative of Motive Energy Telecommunications Group, Inc. (METG), their tower technician who fell from a roof and died in Chula Vista, Calif. on Nov. 23, 2016, was not near the telecom worksite area when the accident occurred. In a statement to Wireless Estimator, he wrote, “METG is informed that Matthew Vukasovich fell …
Tech’s life is thankfully spared after his lift comes in contact with 115,000 volts
A tower tech is lucky to be alive after his bucket lift equipment came in contact with a 115,000 volt transmission line in Fresno, Calif. on Thursday at about 9:15 a.m. when he was servicing a carrier’s equipment on a monopole. The man was rescued by Pacific Gas and Electric employees who had to wait two hours until the power …
X2 and X3 Lad-Saf sleeves need an immediate locking lever inspection
The Lad-Saf family of climbing sleeves are again in an unfavorable focus as 3M Fall Protection (formerly Capital Safety and DBI/Sala) has identified that a limited number of Lad-Saf X2/X3 sleeves were identified with the locking lever not working properly. In August, 3M issued a stop use and recall/replacement notice for their original Lad-Saf sleeve when incidents occurred involving a serious injury or …
Tower techs’ lives are miraculously spared – literally by inches
Although a Saint James City, Fla. wireless contractor lost a crew cab and utility trailer yesterday, and a Pompano Beach, Fla. crane company suffered considerable damage to their 120-ton crane when it crashed to the ground in North Port, Fla., thankfully no injuries were reported in an incident that could have easily resulted in being the most horrific multiple fatality accident …
New Secretary of Labor for OSHA expected to draw upon talents of current leaders
When the new Secretary of Labor for OSHA is appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate in 2017, it is likely that he will keep and rely upon his key officials that have helped guide the agency throughout the years. One such executive is Dean McKenzie, who was appointed by OSHA Secretary of Labor Dr. …
West Chicago telecom fiber optic worker electrocuted
Authorities in Sterling, Ill. Are investigating the death of a telecommunications company worker who was electrocuted yesterday while working on fiber-optic cable when the bucket on his truck came into contact with ComED power line. Robert Zulauf, 32, owner of Zucru Communications, was pronounced dead at the scene just before 1 pm., according to the Whiteside County Coroner’s office. Another …
Checkered contractor loses lawsuit after two tower tech deaths
Based upon substantial evidence to support their findings, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has kayoed a wireless contractor’s final attempt to vacate the company’s serious violations of OSHA’s General Duty Clause and $7,000 in fines they received following an accident that killed two of their employees on May 28, 2013. Both men, employees …
Services set for tech who fell from a 160-foot Oklahoma monopole
UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2016 – Services have been announced for Steven Lamar Hill, 44, of Chandler, Okla. by the Barnes Friedrich Funeral Home, 1820 South Douglas Blvd., Midwest City, Okla. beginning at 1:00 p.m., Nov. 9, 2016. Interment will follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Choctaw, Okla. UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2016 – Authorities have released the name of the deceased tower …
Survivor of horrific TV tower collapse killing seven shares his story after 45 years
On Sept. 7, 1971 in Shoreview, Minn., 32-year-old top tower hand Don Barnard’s supervisor asked him to handle some matters on the ground and he did not climb on that fateful day to assist his 20-year-old brother, Wayne, and five other members of the tall tower crew as they began to lift a section for the 1,280-foot tower’s candelabra platform. …
Ham climber gets a pass on death after his wife watches him collapse
Ham radio operator Charles Young, 65, was performing repair work on his tower in Greene County, Mo. when he reportedly became dizzy, lost his grip and was left hanging 40 feet in the air yesterday afternoon for about 50 minutes on what appeared to be a 60-foot tower. Fortunately for Young, his wife saw him slip and called 911, and …
Newest STAR Initiative contractor participants unveiled by NATE
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today announced the member companies who have been formally approved to participate in the STAR Initiative program for the 2016-2017 year. “Companies involved in the STAR Initiative program have demonstrated that they are the cream of the crop and this year’s participants certainly live up to the high standards NATE has established through …
Tower tech is rescued after a fall from a Georgia monopole
Update: July 26, 2016 – According to crew lead Moses Wright, in a Facebook post this morning, his co-worker on a three-man crew is “alive and well”. Wright said, “It was a 20-30 foot drop and he was stopped by landing on top of our co-worker. We are not sure at this time why his safety grab didn’t grab. We …
New York county fire official is killed while at tower site doing maintenance
The top fire official in Tioga County, N.Y was killed yesterday when a county pickup truck struck him while backing up, according to the county’s sheriff’s department. Tioga County Fire Coordinator John Scott, 71, of Campville, was one of several employees who were performing maintenance at a county radio tower on Carmichael Rd. in the Town of Owego when he …
State by state industry deaths analysis provides a linch pin for continuing dialogue
For 13 years, Wireless Estimator has been compiling data on industry-related fatalities, and presented that information last month to a dozen public and private safety professionals for analysis to see if there are any common threads that could be explored to reduce tower climber deaths. The only commonality, however, was that although there were 116 fatality incidents since 2003, assigning any significance based upon …
