Flagpole safety in Ireland: wind, power lines and work at height

A flagpole is a tall, slender structure that stands in the open and catches the wind, often for decades. Most of the risks come from four things: wind, electricity, work at height and wear on the pole and its fittings. In Ireland, the relevant information comes from Met Éireann, ESB Networks, Gas Networks Ireland and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

Wind

Ireland is a windy country, and the west and north coasts especially so. According to Met Éireann, average annual wind speeds range from about 3 m/s in parts of south Leinster to over 8 m/s in the extreme north, and while inland places such as Carlow have on average fewer than 2 days with gales a year, northern coastal stations such as Malin Head have more than 50. The prevailing wind is from the south and west.

Met Éireann issues weather warnings in three colours, with these criteria for wind:

Warnings are normally issued up to 60 hours ahead, and storms are named when orange wind warnings are expected over a wide area. The criteria are strong guidelines; impacts vary with location and conditions.

Flags in strong wind

FlagPoles Ireland, a Dublin supplier and installer, advises against flying flags in strong winds or rain. It notes that the wind at the top of a flagpole is a great deal stronger than at ground level, and that a wet flag weighs about three to four times as much as a dry one, putting more pressure on the top of the pole. According to the supplier, flags are never flown in force 7 or above, and all flags come down from the poles when there is a wind alert; its warranty lapses if a pole breaks with a flag flying in such conditions.

Overhead power lines

ESB Networks points out that overhead electricity wires are not insulated, and that electricity can jump across the air, so coming close is enough to cause a shock. Its safety advice includes:

• no construction activity within 10 metres of an overhead electricity wire
• a call to ESB Networks on 1800 372 757 before work near overhead wires, to find out the voltage and the safe distance
• flags and bunting are never attached to electricity poles, and a ladder is never placed against one
• raised objects are not carried near electricity wires
• flags or bunting seen on an electricity pole are reported to the ESB Networks emergency number, 1800 372 999

A flagpole is at its most dangerous near a power line when it is carried upright, raised into place or lowered for maintenance. The site is discussed in the guide to installing a flagpole.

Underground services

Digging a foundation can reach cables and pipes. ESB Networks’ Dial Before You Dig service (1800 928 960 or dig@esb.ie) and Gas Networks Ireland’s Dial Before You Dig service (1800 42 77 47 or dig@gasnetworks.ie) provide maps of underground electricity cables and gas pipes. ESB Networks refers to the HSA’s codes of practice for avoiding danger from underground services and from overhead electricity lines.

Work at height

Changing a halyard, freeing a jammed flag or servicing the truck means working at height. For workplaces, Part 4 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 applies. According to the HSA’s guide, employers do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anyone falling a distance liable to cause personal injury, and the regulations set a hierarchy:

1. avoiding work at height where this is reasonably practicable
2. work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where work at height cannot be avoided
3. where the risk of a fall cannot be eliminated, work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall

Work at height is to be properly planned, organised, supervised and carried out. A hinged-base pole, which is lowered to the ground, avoids much of the work at height.

Schools and public places

According to FlagPoles Ireland, pupils at schools often raise the flag in the morning and lower it in the afternoon, and a pole in a school environment therefore has an internal halyard, falling under the same criteria as cords on blinds in a classroom. Internal halyards also prevent the rope being cut and the flag stolen. More in the guide to how a flagpole works.

Wear and inspection

A pole, its fittings and its foundation age with every storm. Irish suppliers offer safety inspections that document the condition of each flagpole, signs of fatigue or failure, the pulleys and cogs, and the parts that need replacing. Care and inspection are covered in the guide to flagpole maintenance, and flagpoles at work in the guide to flagpoles for businesses.