Welcome to this week’s edition of cell tower industry news, created by Jarad Matula and brought to you by Towercrews.net.
OSHA cites for free climbing
One would think that after all of the terrible and tragic climber deaths we’ve had this year, companies would be much more cautious when sending their employees out into the field. But, earlier this week the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Coolvile, Ohio-based, Morlan Enterprises for willful safety violations. The company sent two climbers out into the field to climb a 195-foot communication tower, still under construction, without safety lines or proper fall protection, aka “free climbing.”
“Free climbing a communication tower is extremely dangerous, and it was this company’s responsibility to ensure appropriate fall protection was provided and used,” said Deborah Zubaty, OSHA’s area director in Columbus. “Employers and cell tower owners and operators must do everything possible to stop senseless, preventable tragedies in the communication tower industry.”
Ms. Zubaty couldn’t be more right – everyone in the industry should be working harder to prevent accidents, especially in light of how many good people we’ve already lost this year. Personally, it’s surprising the climbers would even agree to do any free climbing for a company. After all, the law would be on their side if they declined and demanded more safety equipment. Let’s just hope that more companies see that OSHA is serious about its commitment to safety and are coming after you if you’re not ensuring the safety of your workers at every opportunity.
Tower on fire
Apparently all of the action was happening in Ohio this week. Over in Grandview Heights, a cell tower/light pole caught on fire. The fire started when a Sprint crew was upgrading equipment atop a light pole. The area was immediately evacuated, including houses in the surrounding area. Thankfully no injuries were reported, and everyone’s homes seem to be OK thanks to quick action. The area will remain closed until it can be confirmed that the tower is functioning safely or the tower is decommissioned.
Collapsed tower top
Have you ever seen a tower where the top part of the structure collapsed onto itself? It’s quite a site to behold, and one Reddit user in Australia managed to photograph it:
Apparently the tower is older and collapsed onto itself due to weather conditions, with Australia’s winter prone to strong winds and cold temperatures. Structurally speaking, this is exactly what it is supposed to do – collapse onto itself to prevent any potential injury to anything in its immediate area. Despite this perfectly logical explanation, it is still a somewhat bizarre sight and prompted many phallic impotence jokes in the thread where the image was originally posted.
Ethical question of tower rescue
Tower industry blogger “Wade” wrote a great post this week that posed an interesting question: if your fellow climber gets into trouble/danger on a site, should you try to rescue the person yourself, or should you wait for the fire department to rescue him? On one hand there’s the impulse to help people, but on the other there’s risk of liability for your actions, as well as the risk of your own life. What would you do?
Regional/local cell tower news
- Talks to resume on Spartan Stadium cell tower in Kingston, Pa.
- Commission emphatically rejects plans for cell tower in Clintonville, Ohio
- Plant City, Fla., considering update of cell tower regulations
- Tinley Park, Ill., trustees delay cell tower vote again
- Neighbors oppose location of proposed cell phone tower in Athens, Ala.
- Hutchinson, Kan., council OKs cell tower despite neighborhood objections
- Cell tower proposal for Gulf Road in Dartmouth, Mass., being opposed by neighborhood
- Kingston, Ga., hears budget, cell tower ordinance first readings
- Scarborough, Maine, councilors: Cell tower rules need more work
- Police log: Copper stolen from cell tower shack in Lower Gwynedd, Pa.
- AT&T drops Shelburne, Mass., cell tower plans
- Cell tower on school property in Yankton, S.D.
- Rochester, Mass., selectment: Cell tower owner says “no” to fourth free antennae
- Cell tower proposed for Elks Lodge on hold in Sunset Hills, Mo.
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