Ken DeVito, of PSEG Long Island, was nominated by his coworker Amy Di Leo who said, “Not many people who get shocked by high voltage electricity live to talk about it. And it’s likely that even fewer would continue on a career path that potentially puts them in harm’s way every day on the job.
More than 20 years ago, my colleague Ken DeVito was an apprentice on an electric line crew when he was shocked by more than 7,600 volts of electricity. Medevacked to a hospital burn unit, Ken endured multiple surgeries and many months of rehabilitation. A year later he joined PSEG Long Island’s legacy company as a journeyman lineman.
Today Ken is an emergency services specialist at PSEG Long Island, a job where he works alone to troubleshoot issues with electric service and responds to power emergencies. In this role, he is first on the scene when power goes out. His job is often to secure an area for police and firefighters to do their jobs – first responders working together to ensure everyone’s safety.
For the past few months, after Ken completes his overnight shift restoring power, he takes his personal safety message into the field to ensure fellow front-line workers always think about safety on the job. Ken has been giving presentations to overhead and underground utility workers across PSEG Long Island’s service area, sharing what he learned from his near-death encounter and providing insight on how to be safe in different situations on the job.
Ken preaches: Be sure everyone in the crew is in proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and always keep eyes on each other. If something doesn’t seem right on a job site, take time to talk it out to ensure everyone’s safety. Stop the job if there is any concern; the crew’s safety is paramount. And this is advice we all can heed.
Emergency Services personnel work on the electric system day and night in extreme heat and high humidity, driving rain, heavy snow, windy conditions, and other storm scenarios, often working alone – in a bucket truck, on a ladder or up a utility pole in climbing gear.
Today, July 10 is First Responder Friday, and it is also National Lineworker Appreciation Day. As the temperatures and humidity this summer make it uncomfortable to be outside, it’s appropriate we recognize Ken and his lineworker brothers and sisters for the cold drinks in our fridge and our AC keeping us cool.”
Ken, as a small way of saying thanks for all you do for the community, you will receive a $100 gift card to The Pizzeria.