Easily mistaken for men from Mars, power line workers at Duquesne Light Company clothe themselves for safety in protective helmets, heavy chrome leather coats, and two pairs of gloves, one of rubber and the other horsehide. Long, hooked poles are used in-opening overhead disconnect switches. Ordinarily a safe operation, this might prove hazardous if through accident the oil breaker is not opened first, since it may create an arc generating high temperatures, and even explode insulators hurling bits of porcelain at the speed of shrapnel fragments. In such cases, the “armor” shieldspthe workmen from high-tension currents, flying porcelain and the terrific heat generated by the are.