[BC] Almost a Darwin award!

[Davis, Jack L. KTXL]

We had an incident last night where a BASE jumper climbed up one of the 2000
foot towers in our local antenna farm and jumped.  Unfortunately for him he
hit the 5th guy wire and slid down onto one of the sand dampers at about 200
feet.  It took fire rescue from 7:15 PM until 12:10 AM to climb up the guy
wire and lower him to the ground.  In Sacramento County this is considered a
misdemeanor and is only punishable by a $1,000 fine and or 6 months in the
county jail.  I have met with the other Chief Engineers from stations that
own tall towers in the area and we are all going to contact the District
Attorneys office and ask for the maximum sentence to try and discourage this
activity.  We have had base jumpers in the past and not much has happened to
them when they are arrested.  We have also contacted the Fire Department and
they have agreed to go after the guy for expenses incurred during the
rescue.  Considering there were 5 fire agencies, the county sheriff and the
CHP plus 3 helicopters and life flight this could be a bigger penalty then
the judicial route.

 

I learned a few things out there last evening that we as a group should be
aware of: 

 

1)       Secure the tower.

2)       Trip the breakers or pull the fuses on the elevator when not in
use.

3)       Post signs prohibiting trespassing (This is very important from a
liability standpoint, if you have no sign the courts my hold you liable for
injury)

4)       Report all incidents to the local law enforcement agency

 

If you are interested here is a link to a news story about the incident: 

http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_300235941.html
 
The link did not make it so you will have to cut and past it into your web
browser.

 

Jack Davis
K6YC