Shocking cut nearly fatal

Anna Lorck of Unison Networks explains how a bit of DIY nearlydid for a Hawke's Bay man.
The only thing that saved Kevin Goodall from electrocution on the day that he cut the power to over half of Napier was jumping in mid air.
"My quick thinking saved my life, but how I got myself into danger was totally stupid", says Mr Goodall who "is very lucky to be alive".
The self-confessed Do-It-Yourself guy now wants to make sure no one else takes the risk he did. "A split second later and I would have fried," he said.
"My message is clear - don't put yourself or others at risk. Do what our power lines people Unison Networks are always telling us and call them first."
Kevin's property along Springfield Rd has a row of overgrown trees too close to the 33 kV power lines that come directly off Unison's Springfield substation and power Napier.
On December 20 last year Mr Goodall wanted to save himself a bit of money rather than calling in the experts and he decided to do it himself.
"I'd cut down about four trees that morning and was getting through this one when I realised I'd gone too deep and was losing control. A bit of a breeze caught the tree and I could see the lines swaying in the wind.
"I knew what was going to happen, I'd seen trees hit the lines and come down in storms.
"So I let go and did this big 'Bruce Lee' jump in the air and I heard the arcing from the electricity as it came down the tree.
"Freaked out I started to run back to the house, got inside and there was no power".
Still shaking he got in the car and turned on the radio to hear the news. In obvious shock, Mr Goodall then drove to a meeting in town, returned and waited back inside for the power to come on.
Meanwhile back at Unison's control room staff were dealing with a major outage to over 21,000 customers across Napier, working to identify and isolate the fault so they could safely get the power back on.
When Unison Contracting's fault crews got to Mr Goodall's property and saw the damage they feared the worse, expecting to find someone either severely injured or dead.
Unison customer relations manager Danny Gough said it's a hard call when you arrive and see a tree down, scarred with a 33kV burn through the middle of it with branches burnt off and all the tree-felling equipment lying around.
"Our guys have the skills and expertise, and they know the dangers - electricity kills and this was as close as it gets," said Mr Gough.
Unison applies tight restrictions to work on trees and branches within a four-metre range of power lines. The rules are clear, if you are thinking of cutting down trees near power lines you must call Unison for consent and organise for the work to be done by professionals.
"The consequences of not following rules that are there to protect safety are severe; not only are you risking your own life but you are putting others at risk, and you can also face huge reparation costs and even prosecution," he said.
"Unison puts safety first and we have a team of experts who can do the job for you," said Mr Gough.
Unison and Mr Goodall are now working on removing all the trees and then Mr Goodall plans to establish a low growing shelterbelt. Mr Goodall will be expected to cover the costs, with damage claims still being lodged.