From performing CPR to putting out fires, lineworkers do so much more than keep the lights on. In honor of Lineworker Appreciation Day coming up April 8, we rounded up some of our favorite stories over the past year of co-op crews going the extra mile for their communities:
Co-op Crew Saves the Day in Oklahoma
Co-op members touted the heroics of a Northwestern Electric Cooperative line foreman and his team after they spotted and extinguished a chicken house fire on the members’ property, preventing what could have been a large blaze in a drought-stricken area. (See the full story.)
Two Fortunate Mistakes Lead to One Life Saved
While out searching for a transformer in the Arizona mountains, a Trico Electric Cooperative power line patrolman saved the life of a man who’d spent five days alone there, without food or water. (See the full story.)
When a Training Exercise Becomes a True Emergency
When a Shelby Electric Cooperative co-op employee suffered sudden cardiac arrest during a pole-top training exercise, his colleagues sprang into action, drawing on years of training to help save him. (See the full story.)
In the Right Place at the Right Time
A Singing River Electric Cooperative lineman was out to dinner at an Outback Steakhouse with his family just hours after a CPR refresher course when he rescued a choking woman who was sitting nearby. (See the full story.)
Eagle-Eyed Co-op Crew Chief to the Rescue
An alert Arkansas Electric Cooperative Inc. vegetation management crew chief swooped in to help after spotting a small child splashing around in a drainage ditch, just two feet away from the road and less than 50 yards from a fast-rising creek. (See the full story.)
Thankful Widow Praises Co-op Lineworkers
Northern Neck Electric Cooperative lineworkers came to the aid of a frightened, elderly woman on a stormy summer night when she feared her home had been struck by lightning. (See the full story.)
Lineworkers Go Above and Beyond in Florida Fire
A Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative co-op crew rushed to help an elderly man after hearing his cries for help and spotting his mobile home ablaze across the street from where they were working on an underground cable. (See the full story.)
A Runaway Horse and a ‘Superhero’ Lineworker
A normal workday turned into quite the adventure for an Adams Electric Cooperative lineworker who immediately jumped in to help when he saw a riderless horse gallop by with its mounted trail rider in hot pursuit. (See the full story.)
Co-op Employee Rescues Fellow Diner From Choking
Washington-St. Tammany Electric Cooperative’s operations manager quickly made use of his safety training to administer the Heimlich maneuver when a dinner companion began choking. (See the full story.)
‘They Are Heroes Every Day’
After spotting a house fire while out on the job, a quick-thinking Yazoo Valley Electric Power Association line crew rescued a senior citizen and prevented a possible explosion. (See the full story.)