State tower climbers allege unsafe conditions - By ERIC MOSKOWITZ, Concord Monitor, NH
When a group of state police communications technicians showed up at tower-climbing school last year, the instructor took one look at their gear and offered to destroy it, one of the climbers said.
The technicians borrowed gear to complete the course, then returned to their jobs with the Department of Safety - where they faced pressure from their superiors to climb the 180-foot radio and microwave towers with their old gear, and where their concerns went unheeded, the technician said. Since then, two of the climbers have been fired, and a third state technician who was awaiting climbing school has quit.
'One of the reasons I'm leaving is so I can speak out,' said Jim Martel, who resigned, effective Thursday. 'The primary issue for me is that the state only gives lip service to safety issues.' "