I was the IC of a Rescue TC with a sedan on its side with live wires on the car and a person trapped. The initial engine identified the person inside was denying injury and stable. The person was told to wait in the car, don’t touch the ground or move, while we waited for the electrical company to arrive and de-energize. I assumed IC, staged the ambulance, and had the two engine companies isolate the scene from the south end and deny entry, while i did the same from the north end. It was dark and hard to see the extent of damage to the electrical equipment overhead. While standing approximately 25 feet away from the vehicle, a damaged electrical line re-energized and cut through one of the guide wires overhead. The cable swung through the scene and near the crews on the southern end of the incident, nearly missing one of the crew members. Isolation distances were increased to the far side of either intact pole until the electrical company cleared the scene.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Work into a hazardous scene slowly and methodically from a known safe anchor point to determine where the damage and hazard begins.
All wires are treated as live.
Once the situation is determined to be stable for the moment, exit the hazard zone completely and reduce the risk of secondary incident to near zero.
Constantly re-evalute your risk management plan. Do your tactics match your strategy?
