ElectriCities of North Carolina Workers Assist in Bucket Rescue

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 2, 2022

ElectriCities of North Carolina’s Brandon Guin, a crew leader, and David Carlos, an apprentice lineworker, recently helped to rescue a tree contractor who was stranded after his bucket truck became disabled while he was working at an elevated position.

ElectriCities is a not-for-profit membership organization of municipally-owned electric utilities that are spread across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

On Oct. 21, 2022, a tree contractor employee in Pineville, N.C., was working at an elevated position in a bucket truck behind an apartment building when his truck became disabled leaving him stranded 45 feet in the air.

North Carolina’s Charlotte and Pineville Fire departments responded to the distress call and attempted to rescue the stranded man with their ladder trucks but were unable to reach him. Firemen on the scene called Duke Energy and requested their assistance with a bucket truck and were told that it would be 1 ½ to 2 hours for a truck to arrive.

Pineville Fire Chief Mike Gerin then called ElectriCities in Pineville requesting the assistance of their employees to bring a bucket truck to reach the victim. ElectriCities is the managing agent for the Town of Pineville’s electric system.

Guin and Carlos jumped in their 60-foot, two-man bucket truck and responded to the scene. After assessing the situation, they were able to position their truck close enough to reach and rescue the victim within 30 minutes of receiving the call.

“Lending a helping hand – wherever it’s needed – is at the heart of public power,” said Roy Jones, ElectriCities of North Carolina CEO. “Public power lineworkers put service above self every single day and I’m proud of the lineworkers in Pineville for doing just that. Many thanks to these and all public power employees for their unwavering commitment to their communities. It’s what makes us public power.”

“We were honored to be able to assist in the rescue of this person who was stranded at an elevated position,” said ElectriCities Electric Systems Manager David Lucore. “The ability to respond quickly reinforces the value of public power in Pineville and many other cities and towns across North Carolina and the United States. Having local workers ready to respond to emergencies like this are an added value to the communities we serve,” he added.