Dennis McDade

Author Info

Dennis McDade is a man of many hats, both literally and figuratively. An author, musician, video producer and CEO of an Electric Company, McDade spends his days proudly running his multiple businesses. After hours, his "hats" include those of writer, songwriter, recording artist, actor and volunteer advocate. How does he manage to juggle so many pursuits and find success with them all? The answer is simple: by staying true to his roots.

News

Spotlight on the Line Trade: Dennis McDade of Dominion Energy

For Dennis McDade, the rewards of being a lineman outweigh the challenges.

Amy Fischbach

Jan 17, 2019

Early Years
After serving for four years in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter jet pilot, I worked as a field technician for Cox Communications for a year. During a routine trouble call, I repaired cable reception for a Dominion Energy manager. He asked if I would be interested in working for the utility, and I jumped at the opportunity. After I placed well on the job placement test, I was offered a scholarship to attend a 16-week program at Southeast Lineman Training Center to study the basics of becoming an overhead lineman. I graduated at the top of my class and started a position as an apprentice overhead lineman with Dominion Energy in January 2007.

Day in the Life
For the past six years, I have served as an electric serviceman 1st class for Dominion Energy. I am the first responder to all trouble calls in Fairfax, Virginia, on our distribution system. I assess outages and damages to determine the necessary steps to restore power to our customers and repair broken wires, blown primary fuses, transformers and most lights out and partial power calls in my local area.

Challenges and Rewards
The biggest challenge I face as a lineman is knowing that I have a very dangerous job. Climbing 40-ft utility poles to working out of a bucket truck in very adverse weather conditions to adding the element of working with close to 40,000 V can be a little scary at times. The rewards, however, outweigh the challenges by far. Just knowing that our hard work and dedication helps to restore electricity to hospitals, caregivers, rescue first responders, commercial businesses and local residents, it’s well worth it.

Safety Lesson
While on a construction crew at Dominion Energy back in 2012, I was doing a routine meter install. After performing the necessary safety checks, I proceeded to install the new meter, which exploded instantaneously. It caused a huge arc flash right in front of me at eye level. Fortunately, I was wearing all of my personal protective equipment including an arc flash face shield, which added extra protection to my face and neck from arc flash heat and debris. Even though I did all of my safety checks in the meter base, the meter I was installing was a defective new meter, which is very uncommon in my field. PPE saved the day.

Memorable Storm
A snowstorm known as “Snowmageddon” hit northern Virginia in February 2010. I worked day in and day out, for over a week straight, tracking in 3 ft of snow to restore power to thousands of customers. This storm was a little more difficult than the usual storm because most of the roads weren’t plowed, and it was almost impossible to drive to the locations to restore power. My colleague and I had a four-wheel drive bucket truck with a tow-winch, so we were determined to make our way through the

Events

Being safe is cool, raps Dominion Virginia Power lineman Dennis McDade

Lineman who has passionfor music produces videos for Richmond-based utility

BY PETER BACQUÉ Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sep 3, 2014

Nothing can bore a worker like a safety briefing — right up till someone dies.

Or until Dennis McDade starts rapping.

“We’re always trying to promote safety,” said the 36-year-old McDade, a lineman for Dominion Virginia Power.

A member of his Fairfax field office safety committee, he got to thinking, “Let me see if I can come up with a safety rap.

“I wanted to come up with a little bit of a different angle,” he said, “and have fun.”

“Music’s a passion of mine,” said McDade, who has an audio and video studio in his Manassas Park home.

Working with fellow linemen from the company’s Fairfax office, the Air Force veteran produced his music video “Safety Rap” with quick cuts, sharp lyrics, warm moments and a touch of cool irony.

“There’re no mistakes in this line of work,” said McDade, who has been with Dominion Virginia Power for seven years. “Safety is everything.”

Nationally, 4,628 workers were killed on the job in 2012, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That works out to more than 12 deaths every day.

But no Dominion Virginia Power employee has been lost in a work accident in more than a decade.

Even Tom Farrell, Dominion Resources Inc.’s chairman, president and CEO, does safety briefings — for instance, pointing out the emergency exits — before company meetings.

Believing that improving safety improves overall performance, Dominion Virginia Power has reduced reportable safety incidents by 27 percent since 2010.

When the Fairfax safety committee first saw the video, McDade recalled, “They wanted to see it three times.”

Since he made it in 2008, “Safety Rap” has had more than 300,000 views on YouT