Had a house fire near Albany almost take out a whole apartment complex because of bad coax placement

I was running a job in Albany last fall, pulling lines through a 4 story building. The electrician had zip tied my coax tight against a live 220 line and it arced, caught the insulation on fire. We got it out with a extinguisher but the whole first floor hallway was black. Now I check every single cable route myself before I pull anything. Has anyone else had close calls with power lines near your drops?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_harper5d ago

Bad coax placement" almost got me too, same scenario with a live line and a spark show.

robinmason4d ago

Man, that's exactly the kind of thing that makes you rethink everything. It's funny how people just assume cables are harmless. I've seen the same thing happen with extension cords and water hoses in people's yards - nobody thinks about what's buried under the grass until they dig into a power line. It's the same lazy shortcuts everywhere, just in different places. Makes me wonder how many close calls happen every day that nobody ever talks about.