By Klao Bell, Staff ReporterThe allure of having free electricity may prove costly to people with illegal wire connections and deadly, especially for telephone and cable technicians.
The illegal connections hinder the work of firemen, and the technicians are often exposed to a trap of live wires from the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo), provider of electricity in the country.
Firemen have reported that often, while at the scene of a blaze, their operations are inhibited by the illegal connections. They claim they have to wait until the electricity is shut down before turning the water hose in the direction of the wires.
"Illegal wires are a serious problem, you can't just put water on electrical wires, water conducts electricity," said Frederick Whyte, deputy commissioner in charge of operations. "We have to wait until the current is shut down in that area. We have to proceed with other aspects of the operation, since we can't fight the fire from all directions. This holds up the process, time delayed can cost a life."
Mr. Whyte did not say if anyone had died as a result of any such delays, but he confirmed that no fireman has ever been injured because of illegal connections. However, he also explained that often fires result from the problem of illegal wire connections because the "grades of wires are not up to standard, they don't use the correct gauge so it's easy to overload."
An illegal connection can be made simply by creating contact between an electrical cord and the wires established by JPSCo. Other electrical extensions are then attached to provide power for various houses, appliances and bulbs.
Sometimes these wires are carelessly thrown over the JPSCo. lines. At other times they are concealed in trees, through thick grass or wrapped around the thicker telephone lines used by Cable and Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ). It is in those spots that telephone technicians can be endangered, and while some have told The Sunday Gleaner tales of encounters with the dangerous wires, spokesperson for the company, Errol Miller claimed that there is not a significant problem because of standard safety procedures.
"We are not having a significant problem with this type of situation, our wire runs a certain distance below the (JPSCo.) pole," Mr. Miller said. "Under normal situations we don't come in contact with (JPSCo.) wires. Our rule is that whenever our technicians go to a pole and there is any potential danger from electricity or electricity installations they will call the (JPSCo.) and ask them to rectify the situation," Mr. Miller added.
But C&WJ technicians do not always see the connections.
"One of the worst things is when people disguise the wire, and sometimes runs it down the back of the lightpost, sometimes with a brown wire, and the technician is not on the look-out, sometimes he doesn't even see it, and he gets shocked," a C&WJ technician, who requested anonymity, said last week.
"For the average man, it can be dangerous if (for example) he urinates against a pool where a ground wire has been cut," the technician said. "One day, I saw a man urinating against a pole, and a ball of fire came right up to his penis."
JPSCo. has acknowledged that calls from C&WJ and cable companies, with complaints about the illegal connections, are frequent. It added that this communication helps to combat the problem of illegal connections, as in some cases it helps the JPSCo. to identify areas with those connections.
The Jamaica Association of Cable Company Operators (JACCO) has instructed its members to be cautious. President, Collin Innis recalled two incidents where the members were almost killed.
"Two years ago in Portmore a senior technician went up to work and he held on to the Cable and Wireless trunk line, which doesn't have power in it. But someone had tampered with the (JPSCo.) line and run a wire along the Cable and Wireless line to disguise it. When the technician held on to it, he got the shock of his life, the only thing that saved him was that in his struggle the ladder slipped and his body weight pulled him to the ground. He got a fractured skull and ribs," Mr. Innis said.
People who are caught making illegal connections can be charged with "trespassing on the works of JPSCo., which is an arrestable offence," said Constable Lancelot Tyrell of the Constabulary Communication Network. There is also a maximum fine of $10,000 or 24 months imprisonment.
