According to a report from Orlando, FL, a WKMG photographer was the victim of a near fatal Carbon Monoxide incident while working in a live truck Wednesday. A fellow WKMG photographer, who was dispatched to the Cocoa Beach location found the victime passed out and foaming at the mouth inside the ENG truck.
When the photographer was removed from the truck he awoke, but then collapsed.
One person reported the CO alarm was sounding when the photographer was discovered.
The Cocoa Beach Fire department is investigating the accident. Investigators on the scene said the CO levels were off the charts and the photographer would likely be dead or could of suffered serious brain injury if the exposure was longer.
Actually his reporter found him first, Someting told the reporter to get back to the truck as soon as possible. It’s that bond we sometimes have with each other….
As sad as this is to hear, I wish I could say this was the first incident this station’s had.
I work in this market, but not at that station. The unfortunate truth is many of us believe that that station does little, if ANYTHING, to train their photographers in live truck safety. We’ve seen guys from this place drive off with dropping masts, nearly put their masts into power lines… you name it.
It doesn’t take much to make sure your crews aren’t going to kill themselves or anyone around them. The people running the ENG department need to take a VERY serious look at the way they hire their folks and how they go about training them.
Thankfully, this time, everything turned out for the better. THIS time.
Anyone got any better details on this. Was this truck parked at a location with a lot of other live trucks? Did the truck have any exhaust or generator work recently?
The biggest problem I have with CO detectors is operators disable them because they don’t like the alarms going off at inoportune times (tracking, pool feeds, etc). Once the CO detector is installed management could care less if it has batteries or a screwdriver through it.
It really is annoying to open your window on the highway, get passed by some ’70s muscle car and have the CO detector’s 100db alarm go off.
Anybody got a success story with a particular brand CO detector? I’ve only got failures, don’t use first alert or Kidde.
I have had them trip due to RF from our 2-way radios (kidde). I also find that certain brands trip and stay that way. For example, they get a brief ‘wiff’ of CO (like a gust of wind pulls in some generator exhaust) they alarm and keep going even when the CO level is safe. I confirmed this (first alert brand) by holding a unit at the tailpipe of a truck and making it alarm, I then put it in a box in my office, it was still alarming 24 hours later.
Someone in the shooter shop at Local Six needs to go to http://engsafety.com/ and start reading…. go to the chief fotog and tell the chief there needs to be a safety program according to OSHA (29 CFR 1910.332)… if the chief doesn’t want to do that then go to human resources and tell the person in charge that you are not safe at work because there is no safety program for operators of the live trucks… Safety is everyone’s responsibility! There are plenty of resources available to get the ball rolling–b-roll.net has many threads concerning live truck safety… all it takes is someone with a little bit of thick skin to get the ball rolling before the unthinkable happens.
Went the cheap route, tired of false alarms, batteries, temp and moisture sensitivity etc.
Try:Xintex – Fireboy CM4 series; USCG approved, marine use, true weigthed exposure averaging, 12VDC truck powered, not sensitive to heat, mosture, heated element produces accurate results, when you have a problem, you know it…..
the photog is alive and doing great. He will be able to play the piano again.
Hey All,
I work in Atlanta and work in Special Projects (photog/editor) and have to work a live truck from time to time. We have a lot of problems with our live trucks. People get headaches, and feel sick alot. Just remember that management is NOT your friend. You really need to do your homework. I have talked to the Service dept. at a Ford dealership. They gave me two options…get a hose and plug it in the tail pipe to distribute the fumes elsewhere. Or get the Ford Service Dept.to reroute the tail pipe to the other side of the truck. Ok both are a start but we have found that when we run the engine (not just the generator) the fumes waft up to the A/C unit on top of the Live truck and are just sucking in the fumes in from outside and pushing them back inside. Again, management isnt going to handle this until a lawsuit is filed, and in my eyes this is pretty dangerous. So if any of you guys have dealt with this and have a solution or suggestions please let me know. We are all at risk. I am working with pregnant women and I myself have battled throat cancer. I dont like working in these trucks but until i get some ideas on how to make it a safer environment, we’ll still be working in this dangerous situation. Let me know. I am writing in October…last hit was April. Maybe this wont be for not.