Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Jun 30/00) - When you work 50 feet in the air surrounded by thousands of volts of electricity, safety is a major concern.

That's why each year, the NWT Power Corporation hosts the Pole Top Rescue competition. The event was held last Friday in Inuvik to test the speed and skill of workers as they race up a power pole to attempt to resuscitate "The Colonel," a mannequin named for a former boss at NTPC.

"If a lineman should have an accident while up the pole, another lineman is the only one who can save him," said Western safety manager Brian Willows.

The workers are put through the paces of work safety, but Willows said more than safety, they like to instill a pride in the trade among the linemen for the Arctic.

"We bring linemen together from all over the North for one week of safety training," Willows said. "We wrap it all up with the pole top competition."

The linemen came from Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Fort Smith, Inuvik and Yellowknife for the training.

The contest begins with The Colonel strapped at the pole top and the competitor seated in a truck below. The worker calls out for help and runs to the back of the truck to hook up his safety and tool belt.

Using spurs to dig into the wooden pole, the lineman scrambles up to try and revive the victim with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and checks for a pulse. The worker then slings a rope to lower The Colonel gently to the ground.

The clock stops when the worker is on the ground and honks the truck horn. Time penalties are issued for any infractions to the procedure.

The contest became an all-Inuvik battle between Joe Melanson and Pat Kinsella.

Going into the second round, Melanson had the best time of one minute, 45 seconds, followed closely by Kinsella.

On the final round, Melanson said things started to go wrong right from the start.

"The belt was upside down to start with and things just got worse from there," Melanson said.

When he grabbed the wrong rope to sling up the mannequin, the victory was sealed for Kinsella, as The Colonel slammed into the ground with a mighty thud.

Kinsella finished the last round with a clean, quick run to take the contest and a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, for the North American competition, where he'll act as observer this year, for a possible NWT team entry next year.

Kinsella said he "got lucky" in the competition, but had lots of experience to help him along.

"After 20 years practice, I know what I'm doing," Kinsella laughed.

Vice president of operations Pun Chu was on hand to watch the race. He said the exercise is critical to learn, but hones skills they hope to never have to use.

"We like to have our line personnel trained for every emergency situation, but I'm sure the linemen are not looking forward to ever having to use it," Chu said.

Willows said the contest will be held again next year, but they hope to make it an "inter-utility" competition, inviting NorthwesTel and Northlands Utilities to send competitors as well.