Daniel Nance is an Alabama Power unsung hero protecting our first responders
Alabama Power lineman Daniel Nance shares his powerline safety expertise with police officers and firefighters. (Dennis Washington/Alabama NewsCenter)
The heroes in our lives – people such as firefighters and police officers – are only as good as the heroes who train them.
Daniel Nance is one of those heroes. Nance works as a lineman for Alabama Power, but also teaches first responders how to stay safe around power lines and high-voltage equipment.
“It’s all about promoting safety,” Nance said. “Not only within our company and us as line workers, but also for the public.”
Alabama Power’s Daniel Nance helps protect the public’s protectors from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Nance is part of Alabama Power’s Safe-T-Zone team, which travels the state teaching firefighters, police officers and other emergency volunteers important safety information, such as the consequences of pulling a meter at a house fire, what to do when encountering downed lines and how to handle outages during a disaster. Team members demonstrate the potential dangers of overhead and underground power lines with the help of a custom-built trailer, which generates nearly 15,000 volts of electricity. Nance said the program helps first responders make wise decisions during bad weather and emergencies.
“A lot of times the first responders are the first ones there,” Nance said. “They need to know and realize what they have so they can contact us to keep the public safe.”
Nance began his journey at Alabama Power in 1999. His colleagues say his dedication to helping his community extends well beyond work hours. Scott Bicknell, a distribution manager at Alabama Power, said Nance leads an effort every Christmas with the Gadsden crew to find a local family in need and do something to help that family.
“This past Christmas, he found a family who had a broken washing machine and no dryer,” Bicknell said. “Daniel went and got the washer machine from the family’s home and had it repaired, and the crew purchased a dryer with money they donated. Daniel is the driving force behind the Christmas outreach.”
Bicknell says Nance is extremely dedicated to Alabama Power and its customers.
“He displays an ownership of his job that is very difficult for most employees to match,” Bicknell said.
Nance said he’s happy to help.
“People call us and ask us to put on this presentation,” Nance said. “We’ll go anywhere.”
To learn more about Safe-T-Zone, including how to schedule a visit for your group of first responders, click here or visit AlabamaPower.com and search Safe-T-Zone.
