When you're assigned a potentially dangerous task, make sure you have the proper training and use the proper personal protective equipment or
PPE and follow proper procedure. Nine years ago, I fell off a lighting
truss because I didn't follow these simple rules.
Many long time CB members have heard this story before, but I think it bears retelling.
September 1st. of 2000, I was striking lights from the Irvine Bowl, the
amphitheatre that houses the
Pageant of the Masters. My first mistake was my failure to wear a climbing harness, so I had nothing to catch me if I fell. My second mistake was that I was carrying my lights down the
truss rather than lowering them with a rope. Third, I was in a hurry to finish. As a matter of fact the only
safety procedure that I did follow that night was that I wasn't working alone. I had someone else with me acting as a bottom man while I did the climbing, which makes the failure to use a rope just that much more stupid. But even there, I had violated this rule on any number of occasions in my previous eleven years in the industry.
I was in the process of carrying my last light down the
truss and I was anxious to finish the job and get to the crew party. I was nearly half way down the
truss when I missed my
grip. I'm not sure exactly how far I fell, but it was somewhere between ten and fifteen feet. The way the fall started I really should have hit the
ground head first. I've never been sure exactly how I did it, but I somehow managed to straighten myself out so that I hit the concrete steps feet first.
In short, I got lucky. That fall should have killed me. As it stands, I injured both of my knees and pinched a nerve in my back. The pinched nerve went undiagnosed for four years; four years in which I was in near constant pain. There again, it was pure
blind luck that lead to discovering the pinched nerve. Nearly four years after my fall, I somehow managed to un-pinch it. While the pain is no longer a constant in my life, it's still a frequent visitor. I'm in the gym 3 to 5 days a week dealing with pain issues and take anti-inflammatories far more often than I'd like. Nine years later I'm still doing the same job I did then, but now I have learned to use the proper
PPE for this and other aspects of my job and to follow proper procedures.
I'm lucky that I walked away from that fall with a lifetime of knee problems when I really should have died. This wasn't the only time that luck has saved me from serious injury or death, but you can't depend on luck. Luck will only take you so far, then it'll get you killed. Learn from my mistakes and don't make them yourself. Learn and follow proper
safety procedures. Learn to use the proper
PPE for a given activity, then use it properly.
Do this and it just may save your life someday.