RicodJour wrote:
mm wrote:

It took until Wednesday for someone to say how the girl was killed
last Friday in Baltimore.

It seems that the fence she was touching went in AFTER the power line
beneath it. The power line went to a light pole maybe 50 feet away
used to illuminate the softball field.

The fence was not the backstop, iiuc, but a 3 1/2 foot tall chain link
fence near the backstop. There was a cement footing for the pole, but
the pole extended about a quarter inch below the cement, and rested on
the cable. Eventually, it wore through the insulation and touched the
hot wire.

For a 3.5' tall fence post, the post hole was probably dug about 1.5' -
2' deep. Not that deep at all. Considering the bottom of the post
miraculously stopped just at the cable, it's very possible that the guy
digging it, knew he hit the cable, was thankful he didn't die, and
figured that the concrete would cover the top of the cable and prevent
the post from touching the cable itself. Of course the cable being the
limiting factor in the hole depth would mean that the post would not be
set at the same height as the rest - assuming the guy was relatively
careful about setting his posts. I'd check the top of all of the
poles to see if that particular pole was noticeably higher than the
rest, or to see if it had been cut (a cut in the field would look
different than a factory cut post end).

R

I think it is pretty much standard practice with chain-link fences to
place the poles, let the concrete set, and THEN trim them to the right
height. I wonder if anyone is checking to find out who actually put
that fence in. I think it is unlikely that there was any detailed
map of location -- unless it was put in by the power company. --Phil

--
Phil Munro Dept of Electrical & Computer Engin
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, Ohio 44555