khris
Senior Member
This is very disturbing indeed. I want a dog, but it would be devastating to lose your dog that way.
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- Thread starter dt_toronto_geek
- Start date
Automation Gallery
Superstar
Like or not sometime in the future Toronto Hydro wil have to bury this infastructureThe whole mess of overhead wires,transformers and bent poles look ugly anyways.
adma
Superstar
khris
Senior Member
Hydro to fix sidewalk boxes after dogs zapped
$10M to be spent on non-conductive 'handwells', repairs and awareness campaign including hotline
Paola Loriggio
STAFF REPORTER
HENRY STANCU/TORONTO STAR
Jake, a Boston terrier-Jack Russell pup, was jolted three times while out walking.
Toronto Hydro plans to replace 30,000 metal "handwells" across the city with non-conductive ones by the end of the year after several dogs were jolted by street fixtures in recent months.
It's part of a $10 million preventative program that includes a stray voltage awareness campaign and a 24-hour hotline (416-222-3773) for reporting suspected hot spots.
The hotline and ads will be launched on Monday.
Crews have already replaced several defective handwells – utility-access cavities in the sidewalk, usually covered by metal plates – in the wake of the recent dog shockings, said Toronto Hydro spokesperson Denise Attallah yesterday. The latest incident occurred Thursday night in Liberty Village, near King St. and Strachan Ave.
A separate team has been assigned to replace the remaining handwells to prevent stray jolts, Attallah said.
The $10 million will also cover repairs and the ongoing city-wide sweep of electrical equipment, Attallah said.
"We're willing to spend as much as it takes," she said. "Even if stray voltage is just suspected, we'll dispatch a crew immediately."
Attallah said a growing number of incidents involving pets have been reported recently, after the death of two dogs in three months spotlighted the dangers of stray voltage.
A German shepherd named Pierre was fatally shocked in November near a light pole around Keele St. and Annette St.
Last week another dog – a 5-year-old Labradoodle named Mrak –was electrocuted after stepping on a live metal plate in the sidewalk.
Pierre's owner, Max Mancuso, said he was glad the distressing experience brought the issue to light, even though it was an electrified sidewalk – not a handwell – that killed his pet.
"When it happened, I was hoping a plan of action (by Toronto Hydro) would take place, that it wouldn't just be washed over," Mancuso said in a phone interview yesterday. "Any steps they're going to take is a good thing."
Pierre's death triggered a city-wide inspection of electrical equipment by Toronto Hydro crews. The sweep, due to be completed in the next few weeks, should help the utility determine the scope of the problem, a spokesperson said last week.
Yesterday Attallah said the utility will perform regular inspections – even after the sweep is completed – to ensure problems don't recur.
Stray jolts have struck several dogs throughout the city.
On Thursday night, Brian Lawrence figured out the source of the stray electricity that had been silently zapping pets in Liberty Village for the past month – when his dog Jake got jolted for the third time while stepping on a metal sidewalk plate.
"When it happened a month ago, Jake yelped and he was very lethargic for a couple of hours afterward and I had no idea what had happened," Lawrence said.
"This was so powerful that even four or five feet away it was conducting through the slush," he said.
A hydro crew discovered a bad wiring connection and repaired it, police at the scene said.
On Wednesday evening, a woman was walking her two dogs in Yorkville when one pup was shocked by a metal plate embedded in the sidewalk near a hydro pole, police said.
She called police after the second dog was zapped.
Neither dog was seriously hurt, police said.
The stray electricity was caused by a damaged pole, which belongs to the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, Attallah said at the time.
Briar deLange, general manager for the BIA, said it appears the pole's wiring broke down over time.
"We check our equipment fairly regularly," she said. "It seems like it was just a fluke."
Source
$10M to be spent on non-conductive 'handwells', repairs and awareness campaign including hotline
Paola Loriggio
STAFF REPORTER
HENRY STANCU/TORONTO STAR
Jake, a Boston terrier-Jack Russell pup, was jolted three times while out walking.
Toronto Hydro plans to replace 30,000 metal "handwells" across the city with non-conductive ones by the end of the year after several dogs were jolted by street fixtures in recent months.
It's part of a $10 million preventative program that includes a stray voltage awareness campaign and a 24-hour hotline (416-222-3773) for reporting suspected hot spots.
The hotline and ads will be launched on Monday.
Crews have already replaced several defective handwells – utility-access cavities in the sidewalk, usually covered by metal plates – in the wake of the recent dog shockings, said Toronto Hydro spokesperson Denise Attallah yesterday. The latest incident occurred Thursday night in Liberty Village, near King St. and Strachan Ave.
A separate team has been assigned to replace the remaining handwells to prevent stray jolts, Attallah said.
The $10 million will also cover repairs and the ongoing city-wide sweep of electrical equipment, Attallah said.
"We're willing to spend as much as it takes," she said. "Even if stray voltage is just suspected, we'll dispatch a crew immediately."
Attallah said a growing number of incidents involving pets have been reported recently, after the death of two dogs in three months spotlighted the dangers of stray voltage.
A German shepherd named Pierre was fatally shocked in November near a light pole around Keele St. and Annette St.
Last week another dog – a 5-year-old Labradoodle named Mrak –was electrocuted after stepping on a live metal plate in the sidewalk.
Pierre's owner, Max Mancuso, said he was glad the distressing experience brought the issue to light, even though it was an electrified sidewalk – not a handwell – that killed his pet.
"When it happened, I was hoping a plan of action (by Toronto Hydro) would take place, that it wouldn't just be washed over," Mancuso said in a phone interview yesterday. "Any steps they're going to take is a good thing."
Pierre's death triggered a city-wide inspection of electrical equipment by Toronto Hydro crews. The sweep, due to be completed in the next few weeks, should help the utility determine the scope of the problem, a spokesperson said last week.
Yesterday Attallah said the utility will perform regular inspections – even after the sweep is completed – to ensure problems don't recur.
Stray jolts have struck several dogs throughout the city.
On Thursday night, Brian Lawrence figured out the source of the stray electricity that had been silently zapping pets in Liberty Village for the past month – when his dog Jake got jolted for the third time while stepping on a metal sidewalk plate.
"When it happened a month ago, Jake yelped and he was very lethargic for a couple of hours afterward and I had no idea what had happened," Lawrence said.
"This was so powerful that even four or five feet away it was conducting through the slush," he said.
A hydro crew discovered a bad wiring connection and repaired it, police at the scene said.
On Wednesday evening, a woman was walking her two dogs in Yorkville when one pup was shocked by a metal plate embedded in the sidewalk near a hydro pole, police said.
She called police after the second dog was zapped.
Neither dog was seriously hurt, police said.
The stray electricity was caused by a damaged pole, which belongs to the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, Attallah said at the time.
Briar deLange, general manager for the BIA, said it appears the pole's wiring broke down over time.
"We check our equipment fairly regularly," she said. "It seems like it was just a fluke."
Source
jks
Continuous Lurker
Another one?? OMG, they really need to hurry up with changing all those covers to plastic. Of course, that has its own problems, as plastic isn't very durable.
digi
Active Member
The problem is caused by the use of salt...why not find an alternative for that?
Prometheus The Supremo
►Member №41+⅜◄
they can always fill those hand wells with some sort of non conducting oil. when they have to work in them, they can always pump the oil out. this of course depends if the portion of the well that contains the wiring is leakproof. if the water is only coming in from the top lid or near the top, any moisture/water will sit on top of the oil and not find its way down where the wires are. water and oil don't mix, of course they would have to test and see what effect salty water will have, if it breaks down the oil and mixes with it.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
T.O. Hydro Pulls Out Every Worker To Fix Stray Voltage After Five Children Shocked On Street
O'Brien blames the weather and the age of the equipment for the problem.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_31533.aspx
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
Snow-melting agents are part of the problem...
...and the corrosive elements from melting agents such as road salts which I feel is the culprit here after similar NYC incidents...LI MIKE
...and the corrosive elements from melting agents such as road salts which I feel is the culprit here after similar NYC incidents...LI MIKE
Prometheus The Supremo
►Member №41+⅜◄
a temporary quick fix is to spray a rubberized coating on the top of these so they can't conduct electricity.
jks
Continuous Lurker
Toronto Hydro is supposed to allocate ALL of their resources now to replacing all the covers with plastic and rubber.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Regent Park kids shocked
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/01/31/8213646-sun.html
Now 3-5 Regent Park kids have been shocked by the same plates. Come on Hydro, let's remember that water and electricity do not mix and remove those ground plates.
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/01/31/8213646-sun.html
Now 3-5 Regent Park kids have been shocked by the same plates. Come on Hydro, let's remember that water and electricity do not mix and remove those ground plates.
spider
Senior Member
Stray voltage
Over 25 years ago I worked with a local utility that included liason with the Hydro authorities in the pre Metro municipalities. Toronto Hydro was the only one that did not ground their transformers, when queried they claimed it wasn't necessary in almost all situations. Shocking.
I don't know what the situation is now but is easy to check for the layman in the above ground network. Transformers are those big boxy things on Hydro poles that convert high voltage circuits to lower voltage for use by homes and street lights, they should be grounded by a thick conductor running down the pole and into the ground. Easy to see, it is either there or it is not.
Over 25 years ago I worked with a local utility that included liason with the Hydro authorities in the pre Metro municipalities. Toronto Hydro was the only one that did not ground their transformers, when queried they claimed it wasn't necessary in almost all situations. Shocking.
I don't know what the situation is now but is easy to check for the layman in the above ground network. Transformers are those big boxy things on Hydro poles that convert high voltage circuits to lower voltage for use by homes and street lights, they should be grounded by a thick conductor running down the pole and into the ground. Easy to see, it is either there or it is not.
khris
Senior Member
What I find strange about this, is the frequency it's happening this winter. Yet, we never heard about it before...
nfitz
Superstar
One odd thing I've noticed this winter - at least out in Halton, is how little frost is in the ground. Pushing off 3-4 feet of snow with a bulldozer, and the ground is not frozen - even after it's been so cold. It seems because the snow came so early, and heavily, that it has insulated the ground. I don't know if this is true in the city as well (I could always test-pit the tomato patch to check! 
- but I wonder if this is part of the reason.
- but I wonder if this is part of the reason.