AEP continues to put safety first as Transmission employees practiced rescuing each other while up in a bucket or climbing steel. For about 30 years, the company has held this training to make sure all employees are prepared in case of an emergency.

“If we’re in a substation and we get into an energized bus or if there’s a medical emergency, we need to be able to bring them over and down safely,” said Station Crew Supervisor Jose Flores. “This training is important because we want to bring our brother home safe.”

Although these kinds of situations are rare, Station Manager Robert McCray said all crew members need to be prepared because every second matters in an emergency.

“This is important because we’ve got a lot of guys that climb the steel to work on switches and jumpers,” said McCray. “We’ve got to make sure that we have a way to rescue each other if someone gets hurt.”