Verizon hates cats. There’s gotta be a better service.
Good public relations......
Fact: Cats get up poles on their own, they can get down on their own.
How many cat skeletons have you seen in trees or on telephone poles?
Not big on ‘there should be a law’ but there should be a law legally indemnifying employees who act to save life, limb or property.
This is the standard for company vehicles. It’s an insurance thing. Legally Verizon could have fired him.
It’s ultimately the lawyers who got us here.
Our nation is largely a bunch of apathetic droids who don’t want to ‘get involved’ for fear of being sued, fired, or publicly shamed.
Dealing with a frightened, unpredictable animal on top of a telephone pole. What could possibly go wrong?
And would workman’s comp cover it if he ended up seriously injured?
I had a cat that would climb up to the second story window to my bedroom via claws on the wood siding. I’d have to let her in by gently popping off the screen she was glued to, lol. Lord only knows how she got back down the times I wasn’t there to let her in. But she must have gotten down the same way she got up.
I quit them 1.5 years ago. They have stupid people working in their store close to my house.
A cat is one thing. If it had been a somali illegal stuck on a pole trying to steal copper , Id refuse any assistance.
OSHA can’t wait to get involved in any workplace related accidents. They have just the strategy this company needs to prevent other unfortunate mishaps. They are the experts. Just ask them!
Wow, way to go to alienate people and animal lovers. Idiots.
Black dude went really HIGH to get this cat. It was a really nice thing to do and he gets FIRED?!?!
Not sure how to help him out or where to call or email.
I kinda get what they’re saying, he stretched that machine to its limits and if something went wrong and a human got hurt or killed, verizon would be sued for a FORTUNE
But give the guy a warning and let it go. Geesh. He acted like a neighbor even though he wasn’t one.
What Americans used to be like.
I gave Verizon a tweet against what they did here — and I see I wasn’t the only one.
Some of these remarks are quite Libish I must say.
Having done what this guy does for a living I am familiar with the safety regs surrounding working “aloft”.
He is not allowed for reasons many here have no clue about in regards to working in and around power.
Especially when there were obviously no Verison facilities on that pole and a cat is not Verisons problem.
If he went up a grabed the cat less videos blasted all over the WWW he would have been home free, but once again viral vids got some one in a jam.
Feel bad for the guy but he knows he screwed up.
If he got electrocuted and or hurt in someway by going above the power and his “plant” Version would have paid confiscatory OSHA fines and he would probably been denied death benefits for violating safety rules.
If he’s going up around high voltage wires he is endangering himself and equipment.
I’ve worked the results of people getting conducting things in high voltage lines. The image of a golf ball sized hole burned through the bottom of his boot and smell of cooked flesh as we rolled him to the ambulance is still vivid these many years later.
That is just one.
A few years back, we had a 1-1/2 year old cat who climbed into the tree next door. He was up about 100 ft or so. We called the fire department and they refused to help. After a day and a half, the cat, who had ascended another 10 feet, jumped out like some kind of flying squirrel. He landed on the grass on his feet and walked over to the house for food and water. No injuries.
No good deed goes unpunished.
JoMa
A friend of mine got stranded on a Megabus for 4+ hours due to an accident up the highway. Every other vehicle was able to exit and go around, but the Megabus was not permitted. Reason: Megabus hadn’t cleared alternate routes in that area for their very tall buses. Once the driver said that, it all makes sense, particularly to those seated in the upper level.
I doubt many people here are line workers, I’m certainly not one, although I’ve crimped a wire or two in my day (to say the least). What comes to mind for me is that there is (or at least can be) a lot of dangerous crap when you’re at the top of a telephone pole, often put there by other companies (like phone and cable TV). If you are given a work order, I would assume that the crap is fully accounted for and any necessary safing is done, or at least ready to be done. If you go to a pole without the paperwork, you’re on your own to understand what you’re dealing with (in other words, what’s hot). Now, an experienced line worker probably knows exactly what to look for, but one with less experience, not so sure - in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if certain people are certified to work certain poles, while other line men are not...at least until they receive the proper training.
By my standards, Verizon should be applauded. They needed to get the guy’s attention, but they still didn’t ruin his career, and most likely, in a few years, this will be all forgotten by the company. People, understandably, have a soft spot for animals...and a written warning may not sufficient to prevent recurrence, sitting home without pay likely is.
Why didn’t he just use a long metal pole. Worked for the guy down in Florida.