Molly Peterson
May 22, 2009
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The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power holds a memorial ceremony every year to remember its fallen employees. At this year's ceremony in front of its building on Bunker Hill, the DWP dedicated a monument to the hundreds of men and women that have died on the job over the years. KPCC's Molly Peterson talked to the son of one of those workers.
Marco Hermocillo: My name is Marco Hermocillo. I am a civil engineering drafting technician for the Department of Water and Power. My father was Herman Hermocillo. He was an electrical distribution mechanic for the Department of Water and Power.
I design everything my dad used to work on – power distribution system, the high voltage system. I design and draw the underground and overhead system, and I work with the engineers in the design of the system. I also do a lot of field work. I've been in the actual vaults, actually saw work my dad did – splices.
He would practice at home wiping electrical splices, and I remember him melting the lead and wipe splices for the joints. He didn't, he didn't want me to go that – into the lineman field – he wanted me to go to school and become an engineer or a draftsman.
I've been– started here in 1980 right out of high school at age 19. I have 28 years here now.
Also my younger son, he's third generation. He's got– he's taken all his electrical apprenticeship program. He's 19 right now and he'll be taking his exams to come into the department soon.
My father was– he was here 27 years up to the point where he, he was electrocuted. He was electrocuted in a station in 1988. In fact he was going to retire that same year, Up to the very day – he died on a Monday in a station – Sunday night, we had a barbecue at home, and he was just, he wanted me to see the work he was doing and, he lived and breathed it. It was part of his life – dedicated.
Note: A new monument in front of the DWP building is dedicated to Marco Hermocillo's father, Herman Hermocillo, and 215 other workers who died on the job.
