07/17/2025
By Sierra Harrop, W5DX
ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager
Electricity is a killer. About 150 people die each year at work from contact
with electricity, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International.
Half of those are from contact with power lines. That data is just workplace
deaths, so recreational and public service volunteering aren't even accounted
for.
In a recent article, ARRL New Mexico Section Manager Bill Mader, K8TE, shared
safety concerns and processes that can be implemented[1] at ARRL Field Day
sites. I'd like to share a simple phrase that may enhance your situational
awareness: Look up and live.
"Look up and live" was drilled into me and every other television news employee
who worked with electronic news gathering vehicles that had a pneumatic mast or
satellite dish. It was the title of an industry-standard safety video published
by the National Press Photographers Association[2].
In TV news, where I spent the first two decades of my professional career,
there was always a deadline and often a tremendous sense of urgency at the
scene of breaking news to get a live shot up first. Before the days of bonded
cellular internet streaming, we used radio - microwave and satellite - to take
viewers to the scene.
No matter the pressure from news managers, safety was paramount. When we
approached a scene, we made sure to park the live truck at least 10 feet away
from overhead wires to comply with regulations. My personal minimum was two
truck-lengths from any lines, ideally a whole mast-length. If I had a 58-foot
mast, I'd try to park at least 58 feet away from the nearest power line.
Identifying overhead lines was ritualistic: As I arrived, I got out of the
vehicle, walked 20 feet away, looked up and walked around the entire perimeter
of the truck while deliberately searching for overhead lines and obstructions.
This additional 45-second process could feel like an eternity when news was
unfolding dramatically for me to capture and report - but I couldn't go live if
I was dead.
In pursuit of our amateur radio hobby, we should apply even more diligence.
There's no pressure to get on for a ham radio activation. Take your time, walk
around, be diligent. Look up and live.
Portable masts, vertical antennas, wire antennas slung up into a tree -
anything you put up can become energized if it contacts an overhead wire. Do
not take chances. Even what appears to be a phone or fiber line could be
carrying lethal voltages. Do not become the path to ground.
One additional tip that I hope never applies to a radio amateur: Should a
vehicle you're in become energized by a fallen line or a mast erected into
power lines, do not leave it unless it is on fire. Call for help via phone or
ham radio. Yell at any bystanders to not approach your vehicle. Electricity
spreads out from a path to ground in concentric rings of decreasing voltage.
Being in contact with different voltages is what will kill you. If a fire
requires you to exit, carefully jump clear of the vehicle so as to not contact
the vehicle and ground simultaneously. Be mindful of your movements: "Bunny
hop" with your feet together or shuffle your feet on the ground in small
increments without lifting either of them. Do not provide a path between the
different potentials by walking normally or by falling and catching yourself
with your hands.
Please be careful when erecting portable gear within the wires environment.
Remember: Look up and live.
[1] https://www.arrl.org/news/field-day-safety-tips-from-an-experienced-complian
ce-officer
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfloNa2C6mw
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