Electrical Accidents #1

This page was last updated on 05/06/2010

 

Another nuclear worker injured

Just after a temporary employee at the Florida Power nuclear plant is hurt by a falling tool Tuesday, another is burned. They are treated and released from the hospital.

By CARRIE JOHNSON, © St. Petersburg Times, published October 11, 2001

CRYSTAL RIVER — A second temporary employee making repairs to the Florida Power nuclear plant was hurt Tuesday night, just hours after a worker was sent to the hospital when a cutting tool dropped and injured his ankle. The men were treated at Seven Rivers Community Hospital for minor injuries and released. They were expected to return to work Wednesday, said Mac Harris, a Florida Power spokesman. Harris would not release the names of the injured, but both were among the 900 workers from two Virginia-based companies contracted to handle a maintenance operation that started Sept. 29.  The second accident occurred about 11 p.m. The worker, who is from the Atlantic Group of Norfolk, Va., was cleaning equipment in the switchgear room, where electricity is dispersed to different areas of the plant, Harris said.  The man brushed against some electrical equipment that hadn’t been turned off and received minor burns to his arm, Harris said. There is no radioactive material in the building where the man was injured. “The individual was not seriously hurt,” he said.  It was the second trip to the emergency room for a plant worker that night. At 6 p.m., an employee from Framatome ANP of Lynchburg, Va., working in the reactor containment building was injured when a cutting instrument suspended from a cable dropped from its clasp and fell on his leg. Because the man was working in a building where radioactive particles are present, he was accompanied to the hospital by radiation protection technicians and taken to a special decontamination room where he was scanned with Geiger counters.  A low level of radiation was found on the man’s clothing, but none was detected on his skin. The broken clasp has been replaced. Florida Power employees are still trying to determine why it failed, Harris said.  The worker was using the cutting tool to slice through a stainless steel pipe that feeds into the reactor. The plant was placed on “stand-down” following the two incidents, which means all work ceased until the cause of the accident could be determined, Harris said. Work resumed shortly after both injuries. The temporary employees have been brought in to replace one-third of the plant’s 177 fuel bundles, metal rods filled with uranium pellets, and shift the others to maximize energy production. The operation is expected to take one month.  While the reactor is shut down, employees are working on emergency diesel generators and valves that control steam to the main turbines.  Harris said the increased number of employees makes the plant more vulnerable to industrial accidents such as Tuesday’s.  “There’s a lot more work going on, so there’s a lot more opportunities for events to occur than the rest of the year,” he said.

Staff writer Alex Leary contributed to this report.

Co Kerry man electrocuted

online.ie 07 Oct 2001

Health and Safety officials are carrying out an investigation into the death of a builder near Castleisland in Co Kerry. The local man, who was in his fifties, was electrocuted while he was loading a lorry with a small mobile crane at the time when it came in contact with an overhead cable. The man’s body was taken to Tralee General Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

 

Molepolole man electrocuted

04 October, 2001

A 51-year-old man of Goora Tshosa ward in Molepolole died on Friday morning after he was electrocuted when he and four others were moving scaffolding to paint a building. Superintendent Sehubakgosi Tsekele of Old Naledi police told BOPA that two of the men were admitted in the intensive care unit at Princess Marina, one was in the general ward while the fifth man was treated and discharged. The men, who work for Murray and Roberts Construction Company, were painting a new building next to Cresta Lodge and they tried to move the scaffolding when it came in contact with a power line. Police are still witholding the names of the dead man until his next-of-kin had been informed.

 

2 men electrocuted in flagpole raising

Eagle Staff Report

Two men were fatally shocked in Fairfield, Texas, on Monday when a flagpole they were raising came into contact with high voltage electrical wire. Steve Barker, 42, and Mark Webster, 45, were taken to East Texas Medical Center in Fairfield, where they were pronounced dead. The men, longtime employees of Marathon Oil Company, were raising the flagpole in front of the company offices. The incident was ruled an accident and is not being investigated further, said Capt. Hugh Whitaker of the Freestone County sheriff’s office.

 

Barnstead man electrocuted in accident

Associated Press

KINGSTON – Police have identified the man electrocuted when a cable bucket hit power lines.

Police Chief Donald Briggs said Friday it appeared Michael Brooks, 27, of Barnstead had his hand on the cable truck’s door when 19,920 volts passed through him into the ground. Brooks was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the 2:25 p.m. accident Thursday. Briggs said Thomas Hardy, 58, of Epsom was raising the boom attached to the bucket when it hit the power lines. Hardy was standing on a platform on the truck. The truck’s tires spared him. Briggs said both men worked for Twin Star Cable of Epsom and were getting ready to use the bucket when the accident happened.

 

UPDATE,  Safety shortcomings blamed for fatal mill accident

Monday, September 24, 2001, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONGVIEW — An internal investigation found that an improperly wired circuit and inadequate safety precautions were key factors in the death of a Weyerhaeuser Co. electrician, The Daily News reported. In an article published Sunday, the newspaper said a company document also cited shortcomings in training, work standards, inspections and risk assessment in the electrocution of Brian Mock, 44, of Longview. Mock, summoned after a temporary generator delivered a minor shock to a contractor cleaning an oil tank, was hit with a 575-volt electric shock July 26 when he went to pull apart two power supply connectors. According to the company report, Mock was not wearing protective equipment and lacked experience to properly check the problem. The report also said there was no audible alarm, wiring work had not been adequately inspected and wire colors and numbers were mismatched. Mock had worked for Weyerhaeuser for 20 years, the last year and a half as an electrician. Weyerhaeuser officials would not comment on the report, citing an investigation by the state Department of Labor and Industries. A spokesman for the state agency said another two months might be needed to complete the probe. According to the internal report, a Weyerhaeuser investigator has recommended several changes, including replacement of an outmoded ground fault alarm system and checklists for inspecting abandoned wiring, troubleshooting and installing temporary wiring.

 

2 NW firefighters hurt fighting blaze at feed store

LA MONICA EVERETT-HAYNES, Citizen Staff Writer, Sept. 24, 2001

Two Northwest Fire District Firefighters were taken to a hospital after receiving electrical shocks while trying to put out a fire that caused $150,000 in damage last night. David Petrinovich, fire district spokesman, said the blaze was “suspicious,” and investigators are trying to determine the cause. The firefighters do not know what caused the shocks. They were taken to Northwest Medical Center, examined and released. Petrinovich did not have the names or ages of the two firefighters. The fire began at 5:25 p.m. yesterday near Interstate 10 and West Ruthrauff Road at Top Hand Feed & Supply, 4844 N. Davis Ave., and in a storage shed behind the business. “The storage shed housed a bunch of new horse saddles and there was another trailer that housed all of the equipment for the horse saddles,” Petrinovich said. The combined content and structural damage was estimated at $150,000. About 26 firefighters worked on the blaze, which was controlled at 5:50 p.m., he said. Winds last night caused problems with the fire because they helped spread it to brush in the area, Petrinovich said.

 

Dodge man electrocuted while trimming trees

A Dodge County man was electrocuted Sunday, September 16 in Bleckley County when the arm of a boom truck he was on trimming tree limbs became tangled in a power line. Bobby D. Wynne died shortly after noon at a site on Barlow Road, according to Bleckley County Sheriff Harold Lancaster. Wynne’s son, who was operating the truck, was not injured. “He was leaning against the fender of the truck watching his son cut limbs down,” Lancaster stated.

 

Construction Worker Electrocuted

An accident on the job electrocuted a worker in the northland Monday afternoon, KMBC 9 News reported. The accident occurred about 2:30 p.m. at 5016 N.W. Waukomis. The accident occurred at the Kelly-Hill Co., a railroad contractor operation. Ascencion Bermudez, 53, had worked there for the last 25 years. Bermudez was almost done with his shift when he began helping his co-workers move some heavy equipment. Minutes into the operation, he was knocked to the ground and killed by 12,000 volts of electricity. Police investigated the scene for hours after the accident. They said that a boom operator in a crane was moving a piece of railroad equipment off a flatbed. Bermudez was on the ground trying to stabilize it when the boom’s wires hit the electrical lines above, running several thousand volts through Bermudez’s body. “They are very emotionally upset about this individual,” said detective Leroy Williams of the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department. Kelly-Hill officials released a public statement that said, “Ascencion was (an) extremely valuable employee. We regret the loss of a friend, an employee, a husband, a father and a grandfather.” One year ago, Bermudez had become a naturalized U.S. citizen, KMBC 9 News’ Emily Aylward reported. An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday to determine where the electricity hit Bermudez first. Bermudez left behind a wife, two children and three grandchildren.

 

Fireman in stable condition after receiving electrical shock at blaze

A Nashville firefighter received an electrical shock while fighting a fire yesterday afternoon.

Fire officials were not releasing the name of the firefighter, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported that he was in stable condition and probably would be released.  The 3:30 p.m. fire at 2725 Whites Creek Pike did heavy damage to the brick home, which the owner said was empty and used for storage, Nashville Fire Department Capt. Robert Taylor said. Taylor said an arson investigator had been called because the owner reported the power should have been shut off at the breaker box and was only turned on when he was there. Two other firefighters were treated for exhaustion, he said.

 

Government investigates worker’s death

NORTHMOOR, Mo. (AP) — Federal officials and police are investigating the death of a man who was electrocuted while unloading equipment near power lines. Ascencion Bermudez, 53, died Monday while unloading equipment near power lines at Kelly-Hill Co. in Northmoor. Manuel Olmedo, director of the Kansas City office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said his agency is investigating and will meet with a Northmoor police detective this week. The investigation could take about two months, Olmedo said. Police said Bermudez, of Kansas City, Kan., died while helping unload a railroad tie end server from a flatbed truck. Bermudez was touching the server as it was being carried by a crane. He was electrocuted when the crane came in contact with an overhead power line, sending more than 12,000 volts of electricity through his body. The crane operator was uninjured. Bermudez had worked for Kelly-Hill for about 25 years. He recently started his own trucking company, family members said. He is survived by his wife, Gloria, four children and three grandchildren.

 

Greenwood mill worker’s death under investigation

The Associated Press

GREENWOOD – Officials at a cottonseed oil mill are awaiting the results of an autopsy that could show what caused the death of a worker. David Pugh, 50, a 16-year employee, collapsed at PYCO oil mill Tuesday and died at Greenwood Leflore Hospital. Investigators are looking into the possible causes, including electrocution and a heart attack. Officials said Pugh collapsed while moving an empty hopper at the mill. “We really don’t know much right now,” Billy Breedlove, manager of PYCO, said Wednesday. “We haven’t determined if it was an accident or if he died of a heart attack. We’re waiting on some facts.” Leflore County Coroner Debra Sanders said investigators are looking into the possibility that Pugh was electrocuted. Sanders said Pugh and an unidentified co-worker were moving the seed hopper with a forklift before Pugh’s collapse. The co-worker reported receiving an electrical shock to Pugh, said Sanders. “When the other employee went to cut the electricity off, that’s when he found (Pugh) unresponsive,” said Sanders. Breedlove said company officials are looking into the possibility of an electrical accident. “We’re going to make sure there are not any electrical issues. That site is pretty much off limits now until we get our investigation completed,” Breedlove said.

 

Fall, shock killed man, autopsy says

A Ridgeway man who fell some 65 feet from a cherry picker in Buena Vista while working on football field lights died of “electrocution and blunt force injuries,” an autopsy has concluded. Dr. Gregory P. Wanger of the state medical examiner’s office said Tuesday he believes John A. Bradshaw, 42, still was alive when he fell from the work basket over the Parry McCluer High School football field. Wanger said he could not say whether Bradshaw was coherent after coming in contact with a live electric line before the fall Friday night. Bradshaw was pronounced dead early Saturday morning at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington, Phil Ragland, a Buena Vista Police Department investigator, said Tuesday. Bradshaw had been hoisted up to the lights “when he reached for a safety cable to connect his safety belt,” recounted Bradshaw’s brother, Charles Bradshaw, on Saturday morning. “There was not supposed to be power on it,” Charles Bradshaw, said, but the line “was energized.” John Bradshaw was co-owner of Triangle Electric Corp. Charles Bradshaw is the firm’s treasurer. Ragland said Bradshaw appeared to be unconscious when he fell. When Ragland got the emergency call, he said, he was told that a man was hung up in a cherry picker. Arriving at the scene, Ragland found Bradshaw slumped in the work basket with one leg in and the other out of the basket, he said. One of Bradshaw’s two co-workers, who were standing on the ground, summoned police, Ragland said. Before electrical power to the light pole was cut, a member of the emergency medical crew was shocked when he came in contact with the pole, said Ragland. The medical worker, who was not seriously injured, was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital.  In the meantime, the fire department had extended a truck ladder with rescue personnel toward Bradshaw, said Ragland. Ragland said he had ordered a backup fire truck with a longer ladder because it appeared the ladder of the truck on hand was not long enough to reach Bradshaw. Bradshaw had begun to regain consciousness and make disoriented movements to right himself, said Ragland, as rescue workers atop a ladder on the first truck cautioned him not to move. Either ignoring them or unaware of their pleas, Ragland said, Bradshaw fell 60-65 feet to the ground. Though Ragland said he was not certain whether the ladder on the second truck would have been long enough to reach Bradshaw, he said the rescue workers on the first truck would have been able to secure him until a longer ladder arrived. A graveside funeral for Bradshaw will begin at 11 this morning at Horsepasture Christian Church Cemetery.

 

Coram Man Electrocuted On East End
By Samuel Bruchey, STAFF WRITER, August 31, 2001
A Coram man who was doing contracting work outside an East Hampton residence was electrocuted yesterday when he cut into an electrical wire, East Hampton police said. Nicholas LeDonne, 37, used metal wire cutters to splice the wire and received a shock between 120 and 240 volts, police and LIPA officials said. “It was powerful enough to kill him,” said Lt. Bill McGintee. LeDonne was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 1 p.m., McGintee said. The accident occurred about 12:40 p.m., while LeDonne was standing on an aluminum ladder propped against an electrical pole, said LIPA spokesman Michael Lowndes. LeDonne’s former wife, Kelly Atkins, was holding the ladder but was unharmed, McGintee said. She could not be reached for comment. Lowndes said LeDonne was attempting to connect the wire to a separate wire running underground into the home. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, he said. McGintee would not identify whom LeDonne was working for, but said he and Atkins had been doing renovations at that location for several days. Lowndes said he was doing routine electrical work. A LIPA spokesman said the company had not been notified of any electrical work being done at that address. “It was just an unfortunate accident,” McGintee said.

 

PG&E truck rolls, driver killed

By ELEANOR CAMERON – Staff Writer

MAGALIA – A Pacific Gas and Electric worker was killed in a traffic accident early Wednesday morning. Gerald Wayne Smith, 56, Paradise, was driving a PG&E truck on Dogtown Road just east of Skyway. His vehicle ran off the edge of the road, hit a tree and rolled over once. According to the California Highway Patrol, Smith was wearing his seatbelt. Fatal injuries were caused when the cab of the vehicle caved in, the CHP said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith worked for PG&E for 30 years, said Lisa Randle, PG&E spokeswomen. He was traveling to PG&E’s DeSabla camp at the time of the accident. Smith’s dog, Sparky, was in the vehicle with him at the time of the accident. Sparky was returned to the victim’s family.

 

UPDATE, Fire chief jolted by electricity expects to leave hospital soon

08/29/01, By JIMMY P. MILLER , The Express-Times

NAZARETH – Vigilance Hose Co. Fire Chief Danny Keenhold said he will be released from the hospital today or Thursday. In his first interview since being critically burned by at least 20,000 volts of electricity on Thursday, Keenhold said he was feeling fine and looking forward to coming home. “I’m a lucky man, I can tell you that for a fact,” he said from his room in Lehigh Valley Hospital’s burn unit. Keenhold said he and his family were “holding up fine.” He anticipates a full recovery with no permanent injuries, he said. “My health’s A-1,” Keenhold said. “At first they thought maybe the electricity got my heart a bit, but … that came back to normal.” He said it will take him months to recover from a skin graft that was done to both his hands. Doctors took skin off his legs and used it for his hands, which will be wrapped in bandages indefinitely, he said. The wraps will prevent him from driving or from lifting anything at his business, Nazareth Produce. He does, however, plan to return to work as soon as possible and help out where he can, he said. “I just got to watch so I don’t get infections,” Keenhold said, adding that his daughter was about to feed him because he doesn’t have any use of his hands. “There ain’t a whole heck of a lot I can do.” There’s no timetable on when he will return to his duties with the fire department, he said. Vigilance Hose Co. President Carl Strye Jr. said First Assistant Chief Ed Statler will be taking over the chief’s duties until further notice. Keenhold said he is still unsure how the electricity flowed from a flaming utility pole to his body. The fire department got a call shortly after 3:30 p.m. for a fire at the top of a utility pole on Route 248, at the west end of the borough. “We went first of all with the fire truck,” he said. “And then the cop called back and said it’s flaming at the top. I brought the aerial, and thought maybe we could put some dry chem on it. I went up the ladder, and I don’t know if the electricity jumped from pole to pole or from pole to the ladder – I don’t know. It happened so quick. It locked me to the ladder. Then I broke my hands free, thank God.” Keenhold said about 20,000 to 24,000 volts went through him. He was still listed in critical condition Tuesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.  Strye explained that Keenhold was listed in critical condition because he was recovering in the burn unit. Strye said the fire department was waiting to get a report on the accident from PPL Corp., which owns the utility pole and wires. PPL spokesman Jim Burns said the company’s safety department is investigating, but he did not know when a report will be complete. Vigilance Hose might be able to incorporate the incident into the company’s training, Strye said.  “There are lessons to be learned out of this,” he said. “You’re a volunteer. When you leave the house, you don’t know what can happen. Guys don’t think about that. I think they’ll think about it a little bit more now.” The incident has brought the Nazareth community together, Strye said. He added that the driver of the ladder truck at the time, Ernie Fehnel, was badly shaken up by the episode. “Nobody’s blaming him,” Strye said. “It was just a freak accident, and we all know that.” The fire company’s members were happy to see Keenhold be himself again, Strye said.   “He’s the luckiest guy on earth, I know,” Strye said. “You can have your Powerball winners and stuff, but this guy is one lucky dude. His number was not up.”

230,000 volts send construction worker to hospital

By Robert Airoldi, STAFF WRITER

FREMONT — A 22-year-old construction worker was burned after receiving an electric shock from a power line Monday morning. Adolfo Diaz was semi-conscious and in critical condition when he left the construction site via helicopter, but a Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spokeswoman said he was in fair condition Monday afternoon. “He got hit with the full force,” said Division Chief Geoff LaTendresse of the Fremont Fire Department. “That’s a significant amount of electricity to be exposed to.” It was about 8:10 a.m. when Diaz was trying to access the roof of one of three commercial buildings under construction at 43600 S. Grimmer Blvd. Diaz was using a self-operated boom lift, when his head apparently came within the safety zone of the line and it arced, shooting 230,000 volts of electricity through his body, LaTendresse said. LaTendresse said he did not know whether the hard hat Diaz was wearing contained metal. Firefighters doing an equipment check at the S. Grimmer Boulevard fire station heard the explosion and saw the lights in the station flicker. Minutes later, the call came in. Diaz was unable to lower the boom himself, so firefighters rescued him using a nearby lift. “(Firefighters) went up near and below and him and pulled him off,” LaTendresse. The passage of electricity through the body can cause severe burns, shock and death. The hospital spokeswoman refused to divulge the man’s exact injuries. Perhaps the most notable accidental electric shock occurred in May 2000 when a television reporter — sitting in the front passenger seat of a television van — received an electric shock when the microwave antenna mast came in contact with 34,000-volt power lines. She suffered through 10 operations, 33 transfusions and the amputation of a leg, arm and part of a hand and foot. She also suffered third-degree burns to both feet, both forearms and a hand when the power coursed through the vehicle and her body.

Although the voltage was significantly higher in Diaz’s accident, he never came in direct contact with the line. “It’s really an incredible survival,” LaTendresse said.

 

Construction worker killed in Hacks Point; * Electrocuted when part of cement truck hit power lines

HACKS POINT – A Delaware man was electrocuted Friday when the boom of the concrete truck he was operating struck an overhead power line. Cleveland Brokenbraugh, 27, of Middletown, an employee of Bear Materials in Bear, Del., was pronounced dead at Union Hospital due to injuries from the electrocution, which occurred at about 1:30 p.m. on Bohemia Lane, according to the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office. Witnesses at the scene said Cleveland was using a remote control device to operate the boom of a concrete pumping truck when the boom touched a power line located about 30 feet overhead. “It is just a damn tragedy – that is all it is,” said Jim Coughlin, the homeowner at Bohemia Lane where Cleveland was doing the concrete work.  Gary Noyes, who is Coughlin’s neighbor, was working side-by-side with Brokenbraugh when the electrocution occurred. “He reached down to pick up the remote control joystick and as soon as he grabbed it the electricity just went right through him,” Noyes said. “I had been working with him the whole day. He was a really nice kid – it was just horrible.” Brokenbraugh had a girlfriend with two children with whom he lived and was in a hurry to get the concrete poured on Friday so he could go on vacation with his family, Noyes said. On Sunday, Noyes and Coughlin were sitting with their wives and friends around a pool, still shaken from the tragedy that unfolded there on Friday. “He said, ‘I got to get this done as soon as I can because my family is waiting for me,'” Noyes said. “He had just poured the concrete and had lifted the boom to an upright position so he could clean it out.” Coughlin said he had taken a picture of Brokenbraugh on Friday while he was operating the remote-control concrete pumper. He said no one could have known it would be the last picture ever taken of the likable, animated, 27-year-old man. “He was a really nice kid, reminded me of Chris Rock the comedian. He was just a friendly guy who was immediately the center of attention as soon as he got here,” Coughlin said. “I think the sun was right in his eyes so he couldn’t see that the boom was on the power line,” Noyes said. “If he hadn’t been electrocuted it would have been me because I was just about to put my hand on the truck when it hit him.” Noyes called 911 as soon as he saw Brokenbraugh on the ground. “The paramedics were here in about one minute,” Noyes said. “They worked on him for about an hour, taking turns doing CPR. They just wouldn’t give up on him.” The other concrete workers at the scene were visibly shaken, Noyes said. “Everyone was really affected by this, it was a real somber scene,” he said. “One of the workers began praying – we had a prayer service for him right there.” Brokenbraugh was pronounced dead at Union Hospital in Elkton at about 2:30 p.m., according to police. Tom Marple, director of the Occupational Safety and Health Association’s Office of Construction Services, said the primary cause of electrocutions that happen in the workplace is contact with overhead power lines. “We see it happen time and time again,” he said. According to OSHA data, nearly 150 workers in the nation die each year due to electrocution from contact with overhead power lines.

Electrical worker dies in accident at GE Plastics

By MARK WILSON, Courier & Press staff writer
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. — The accidental death of a contract electrical worker on Thursday night has caused GE Plastics to close part of its Mount Vernon site. Jeffrey A. Wolf, 42, was fatally shocked Thursday while working on wiring for an expansion project at GE’s Lexan Development Facility. Wolf was employed by Industrial Contractors of Evansville, where he had worked for 10 years. “This is not a GE employee, but GE Plastics is cooperating fully with the investigation (of the accident),” said GE Plastics spokeswoman Kimberly Derk. She said new safety procedures involving the work Wolf was conducting at the time of his death have been put in place and are being followed. The Lexan Development Facility has been closed until Industrial Contractors finishes its investigation of the accident. Tom Conkling, safety manager for Industrial Contractors, said the company was “deeply saddened” by Wolf’s death.  “We take safety very seriously,” he said. “There is no higher priority than the safety of our employees and those who work on our sites.”

 

Father and son electrocuted in farming tragedy; Another son burned as irrigation pipe hits hydro wires

Jennifer Kwan, STAFF REPORTER

A father and son were electrocuted in a farming accident yesterday in the tobacco belt community of Teeterville. A second son suffered severe burns to his hands and feet. The accident killed Anthony Jacques, 51, and his son Archie, 21, and left the tiny community in Norfolk County shaken. It happened as the men were laying irrigation pipe on their tobacco farm on Regional Rd. 19 around 4 p.m., said Constable Mark Foster of the Ontario Provincial Police Haldimand-Norfolk detachment. As they worked their way closer to the side of their home, where there were hydro lines, they spotted a mouse inside the 13-centimeter pipe, Foster said. `They were shaking the pipe to get the mouse to run out,” he said. “Only it didn’t want to run out.” Foster said the three lifted the 9-metre-long metal pipe into the air to make the mouse slide out, and the pipe came into contact with the hydro lines. “The father is the manager, the owner (and) they’re right in the middle of harvesting,” Foster said. “How do you deal with that? It has to be very difficult.” All three were rushed to Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe, where Anthony and Archie were pronounced dead. Ryan Jacques, 17, was transported to the burn unit at Hamilton General Hospital with burns to his hands and feet. George Elliott, a retired farmer who lives next to the Jacques farm, called it a “tragedy” when he learned about the accident last night. “They’ve been in the neighbourhood for a long time,” he said. “They’re a good family.” Elliott said the family has been living there since the 1950s and farms at least 40 hectares of tobacco. He said there are three boys in the family and all of them help out on the farm. Gary Gallant, who lives on Windham Rd. 3, northeast of the Jacques, said Archie attended Delhi secondary school and played on the basketball team. “My wife referees basketball for the high school and she knows the family,” Gallant said. They also went to church together at Our Lady of La Salette, located between Scotland and Delhi.

Hydro lineman dies on the job in St. Catharines; Labour ministry investigates electrocution

Margaret Mironowicz
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICEST. CATHARINES – Staff at St. Catharines Hydro are grieving over the death of a lineman who was killed on the job. James Smyth, 41, was electrocuted on Thursday while switching power lines from one pole to another in a residential area. The last time a lineman with St. Catharines Hydro died from electrocution was in 1938, president John Kerklaan said. The labour ministry is investigating the death, and so is St. Catharines Hydro through its health and safety committee, Kerklaan said. Grief counsellors were called in yesterday to help staff cope with the fatal accident, he said. St. Catharines Hydro has a staff of 92. Smyth, who had been working for the company for four years, was one of 27 linemen, Kerklaan said. “We’re still trying to piece together what happened. He made an electrical contact with a secondary voltage (line) – it was actually 120 volts. They were doing a pole change in a residential area, and it was near the end of the job. All we know is he made contact with the secondary wire and as a result of that, he lowered himself into the bucket truck and he lost consciousness.” Smyth was working with another lineman, who was in a separate bucket, and a supervisor. Kerklaan said co-workers called 911 and unsuccessfully tried to revive Smyth with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was taken to Hotel Dieu Hospital in St. Catharines and pronounced dead. Kerklaan said there have been two similar deaths in Ontario in recent years. A lineman from Niagara Falls Hydro was electrocuted two years ago on the job, and another in the former region of Haldimand-Norfolk last year. “We have a very good safety record,” said Kerklaan. “The secondary voltage (line) was still live, which is normal. You isolate the primary current while you are working on it, but it’s normal for a secondary voltage to be live.” Normally, linemen wear protective gloves to isolate them from an electrical current. He did not know if Smyth was wearing gloves or not. “We’re planning first of all to get through this grieving process,” Kerklaan said. Smyth loved his job and regarded those he worked with as his “extended family,” said his father John, 64. He spent most of his time outside of his job immersed in his greatest love – flying parachute-powered ultralight aircraft and teaching others to fly at a school he started more than four years ago, called Just Plane Fun. He operated the school with one ultralight aircraft kept at the Welland-Port Colborne airport. “He flew all over the Niagara Peninsula. He was a very happy and immensely kind young man,” said his father, who is also a licensed pilot and shared his love of flying. Smyth lived in Vineland and called every day to check on his father. He was working with his best friend when he was electrocuted on the job. They were switching lines from one pole to another in a residential area of St. Catharines, at Cayuga and York streets at about 2 p.m. “They’re all professionals working in that environment. He was specially trained to deal with high voltage,” said his father. “It’s not the type of accident you expect to happen.” Smyth, not married, worked for hydro companies for almost 20 years in the Hamilton and Burlington area, and settled in Vineland after his father moved to St. Catharines.

 

UPDATE, Power station blast report out; Work has resumed at the plant following the blast

A power station explosion which killed three men and left a fourth badly injured happened during a maintenance operation, a report has revealed. The Health and Safety Executive has completed the first stage of its investigation into the blast on 8 August at the Teesside Power Station, which is owned by Enron Power Operations. Initial findings indicate the incident occurred while voltages were adjusted in the plant’s electrical system. The two workers who died at the scene were operator technicians Andrew Sherwood, 36, of Hartlepool, and Darren Higgins, 28, of Normanby, near Middlesbrough. The third, who died in hospital, was Paul Surtees, 40, of Hawthorn, County Durham, an engineering and maintenance manager. Operator technician Graeme White, 37, of Billingham, Teesside, is still recovering in Middlesbrough General Hospital from severe burns. A statement released by the HSE said: “During a planned maintenance programme involving shut-down of part of the power station, electrical power had to be redistributed to support the services and maintain essential supplies.  “This included adjusting the voltages in the electrical system to allow a circuit breaker to be closed. “At the time of the incident employees were engaged in an operation intended to alter the voltage across a large transformer and this resulted in an immediate explosion and fire. “Throughout the investigation, HSE inspectors have had the full co-operation of Enron managers and employees. “The generation of electricity resumed on August 19 and HSE is now preparing a report for the coroner to assist with the preparation of the inquests.” A final decision on whether to bring any criminal proceedings will not be made until after the inquests. The statement continued: “The next stage of HSE’s investigation will include consideration of whether there are lessons which can be learned by the electricity industry to minimise the risk of this type of incident happening again elsewhere.” Inquests into the three deaths have already been opened and adjourned to a date yet to be fixed. The investigation by the HSE is expected to continue off site for several more days. Enron’s chief executive flew in from America to investigate the incident at Lazenby near Middlesbrough. The explosion was the third at the plant since it was built eight years ago. Two previous accidents left two employees seriously injured, one partially blind and deaf. The power station generates electricity for the National Grid using North Sea gas.

Another UtiliCorp employee injured
By BURTON TAYLOR, St. Joseph News-Press

Two UtiliCorp United employees are in the hospital after sustaining electrical-related injuries while working in the field. Robin Roberts, 45, is in serious condition, recuperating from injuries he received Tuesday working on a company transformer in St. Joseph. The UtiliCorp technician was burned while conducting maintenance procedures outside the St. Joseph Foods building at the Mitchell Woods Business Park. “We called the emergency equipment as soon as it happened, and he was taken out of here,” said Larry Coffman, vice president of St. Joseph Foods. The St. Joseph resident was first transported to Heartland Health and then flown to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., joining another UtiliCorp worker also laid up at the hospital’s burn unit. District Lineman Lloyd Pitts, 60, was injured while replacing an electrical transformer and connecting a customer’s service on Aug. 14 in Pickering, Mo. He has been in the hospital since the accident took place, and his condition has recently been upgraded to fair. UtiliCorp officials maintain accidents such as these are rare and that the two are not connected in any way. “Accidents are always a concern of the company, but these were unrelated,” said George Minter, UtiliCorp spokesman. “Our main concern is the standpoint of the employees getting well and finding out what caused the accidents.” While UtiliCorp maintains the incidents are unrelated by time and cause, doctors note the effects of the accidents also are different. Although he couldn’t go into detail about the two patients’ conditions, Dr. Richard Korentager, an assistant professor at the Medical Center, named two different types of high-voltage electrical injuries. Each example mirrors the injuries experienced by the UtiliCorp employees. In the more recent case, Mr. Roberts experienced an electrical burn, which is sometimes similar to a flame burn or surface burn, depending on severity, Dr. Korentager said.  The other type of high-voltage injury is electrical shock, Dr. Korentager said. This is the type of injury Mr. Pitts experienced a couple weeks ago. In an electrical shock, the current of electricity enters one point of the body, does its damage and then exits through another point, the doctor said. During that process, the electrical current typically causes most damage deep inside the body, Dr. Korentager said. “The electrical current travels through the path of lesser resistance, which is normally areas of deeper tissue,” Dr. Korentager said. “The heat is generated in the deeper tissue so you literally see cooking from the inside out.” Treatment can be extensive in both cases and often includes the removal of tissue, muscle and sometimes is followed with skin grafts, he added. However, in most cases the patients survive. “In the vast majority of cases, people will certainly survive, but they could have major long-term (effects),” Dr. Korentager said. In an attempt to limit those long-term effects, the two injured UtiliCorp employees will continue to be cared for at the Medical Center. “You treat them at the hospital until the dead muscle has been removed and the wounds have been able to heal,” Dr. Korentager said. “With these types of injuries, treatment can be very hard.” UtiliCorp United officials are currently working on an investigation to determine the causes of the accidents.

 

Worker still in critical condition

BY PETE NARDI , The Island Packet, Published Wednesday, August 15th, 2001

A construction worker remained in critical condition Tuesday evening after being electrocuted earlier in the day at a Sun City Hilton Head construction yard off Bulltomb Road, authorities said. Cecil Alphord, 25, was in critical condition at Hilton Head Medical Center and Clinics as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, said hospital spokeswoman Kelly Presnell. Co-workers were performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Alphord when Beaufort County paramedics and Bluffton firefighters reached him shortly after 9:30 a.m., said Capt. Trey Fludd of the Bluffton Township Fire District. “Beaufort County EMS paramedics shocked him once and got a pulse,” Fludd said. Alphord was working under Sun City builder DJ Construction on Tuesday, and apparently was electrocuted by the cord of a power tool he was using on the roof of a building when the cord got caught on the roofing, said Ken Hull, Sun City general manager.

 

Blast cuts power
Many residents, UGA left in dark

By Stephen Gurr, [email protected]

An explosion at a Georgia Power substation off Old Hull Road disrupted power for thousands of Athenians during the lunch hour Wednesday, knocking out traffic signals and halting electrical service to the University of Georgia. Power was restored without incident within 30 minutes, at about 12:25 p.m. Wednesday. Athens-Clarke and UGA police scrambled to direct traffic at dozens of busy intersections from North Avenue to College Station and Lexington roads. There was only one reported accident during the time power was out — a two-car accident with no injuries at the Athens Perimeter and Olympic Drive. The failure of a 115,000-volt transmission breaker at the Athena substation ruptured an oil-filled breaker tank, sparking a massive explosion and fire that destroyed the breaker, said Doug McGowan, region distribution manager for the Georgia Power Co. The site was unmanned and no one was injured in the explosion. ”It would have gotten your attention,” McGowan said of the blast. ”That’s one of the reasons there are those fences around them.” UGA Police Chief Chuck Horton said the outage caused no major problems, though some folks were stuck in elevators during the blackout. The university police switchboard was swamped with callers ”kind enough to tell us we had a power outage,” Horton quipped. McGowan said approximately 13,000 power customers in eastern Clarke county were affected, with a ripple effect that may have reached as far as 40 miles into neighboring counties. There were reports of scattered power outages in Oconee and Oglethorpe counties. Catastrophic breaker failures are rare, McGowan said. The cause of Wednesday’s failure was not immediately known, but earlier lightning damage may have weakened the breaker, he said. Georgia Power officials expect to have the breaker repaired within the next few days. In the meantime, a hole in the system’s power grid makes it more vulnerable to isolated outages in the event of fallen trees or accidents.

UtiliCorp employee burned by shock
St. Joseph News-Press, By BURTON TAYLOR
Lineman in critical condition at burn unit

A UtiliCorp United employee is recovering after an accident in which 7,200 volts of electricity passed through his body. District lineman Lloyd Pitts, 60, was accidentally shocked Tuesday afternoon while working to replace an electrical transformer and connect a customer’s service near Missouri Route 148 in Pickering, Mo. UtiliCorp, which began offering electrical service to Northwest Missouri residents after purchasing St. Joseph Light & Power in December, is working to determine how the accident happened. However, more immediate concerns remain with Mr. Pitts’ current condition, UtiliCorp spokesperson George Minter said. The veteran employee was transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center burn unit for treatment after the accident. Mr. Pitts was in critical condition late Wednesday, a hospital official said. No details of his injuries were released. As doctors work to help Mr. Pitts, company officials and the employees’ union are investigating what events took place leading up to the accident. He was working with another lineman when the accident happened. Other than that one witness’s testimony, the company will rely heavily on Mr. Pitts’ own account of what took place, UtiliCorp spokesperson Judy Ness said. “You just have to go back and talk to the people involved, and of course he is not in the condition to talk himself,” she said. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 695 is working with the company to determine the cause of the accident. However, they, too, are unsure of what transpired. “We don’t know exactly what happened yet,” said Rick Strasser, IBEW business manager/financial secretary. “But our work is hazardous work. That’s why they pay us what they do.” Linemen work with several different types of electrical lines each day. Mr. Pitts was working on an area distribution line, which has enough of a current to serve an entire neighborhood of customers, Ms. Ness said. “It’s a line that other lines feed off of, but it’s not one of the high-voltage transmission lines,” she said. Transmission lines carry more than 100,000 volts of electricity.

 

UPDATE, Death blast power station reopens

An official report into the explosion is expected

Power generation is to resume at the Enron plant on Teesside where three people died in an explosion on 8 August. The move follows the completion of an on-site investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The reopening will not happen until after the funerals of the three men, which are expected on Friday. The investigation by the HSE is expected to continue off site for several more days. Enron’s chief executive flew in from America to investigate the incident at Lazenby near Middlesbrough. The explosion was the third at the plant since it was built eight years ago. Two previous accidents left two employees seriously injured, one partially blind and deaf. The combined heat and power station, which uses gas from the North Sea to produce electricity for the national grid, had been switched off for maintenance at the time of the explosion. The power station is opposite the former ICI Wilton site, which is still a petro-chemical complex.

Worker hurt at Utilities’ substation worksite

A man working at the site of a new Hutchinson Utilities substation was injured Monday when he fell into a basement located under a concrete equipment pad. According to Hutchinson Fire Chief Brad Emans, the Hutchinson Ambulance and Hutchinson Fire Department was called to the scene, which is about five miles south of Hutchinson on County Road 25, at 11:03 a.m. The injured worker, identified as David Tifft, a mechanic in the power supply division, apparently fell through an opening in the concrete pad and landed in about 10 inches of water. He was conscious, but complained of back pain and numbness in his left arm, according to Emans. The victim was lifted out of the eight- to 10-foot deep basement with the help of a crane on the construction site and was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital. No further information on his condition was available as this edition of the Leader went to the press. A transformer, a key component of the project, was delivered to the substation site last week.

 

Repairman receives serious shock on roof

By ALAN BURKE, News staff

PEABODY — A critically injured air conditioning technician, struck by hundreds of volts of electricity, was rescued yesterday from a Centennial Park rooftop after he managed to call for help on his cell phone.  The repairman, Edward Eastman, 37, of Methuen, was taken first to Salem Hospital and then to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition late last night.

Eastman, an independent contractor working on behalf of Associated Mechanical Industries in Woburn, was alone on the roof of FEI Company at 10 Technology Drive at the time of the accident.  Exactly what brought him into contact with the electricity could not be determined yesterday. But workers inside the building knew at once that something was wrong.   “I guess the lights flickered,” said Ed Cahill of FEI. “That must have been when he was injured.”  On the loading dock, another employee heard a series of loud pops.  According to Deputy Fire Chief Paul Hinchion, Eastman was hit with between 220 and 440 volts of electricity.  “The electricity probably entered through his hands,” he said. “He was working with his hands. Then it has to exit somewhere and it came out up near his neck. … He got zapped pretty good.”  Eastman suffered significant blood loss through the wound on his neck, according to one witness. Stunned, he was nevertheless able to call 911 and report the accident. He could not make clear, however, which part of the huge roof he was on.  But in a remarkable twist, workers at FEI were apparently listening to a scanner and realized that the accident had occurred above them. They also called 911, while alerting the dock workers. Eastman was located slumped alongside the air conditioning unit.  A charred metal neck chain was found next to him.  The Peabody Fire Department, along with Peabody Police and Northshore Ambulance, responded “within minutes,” according Hinchion, reaching the roof and turning off the power.  “He was still breathing, still talking to us,” said EMT David Rowley. The air conditioning unit was found open, the no-longer-live wires exposed.

The fact that the victim remained conscious was encouraging, Rowley said.  Moments after the accident, Eastman was being slowly, painstakingly lowered from the two-story brick building, down the gradual slope of a fire truck’s ladder. His arms were raw and red from burns and blood, and he was moving occasionally. Employees of FEI stood about watching, grim faced.  “It’s extremely unsettling,” said Eileen Boudreau of FEI, which produces semiconductors for computers. The building’s air conditioning, she added, had been showing the stress of a long heat spell.  The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration and city officials have begun an investigation of the accident, according to police spokesman Sgt. Dennis Bonaiuto.

Autopsy shows worker at Millville Airport was electrocuted

August 14, 2001 – 12:15 AM, By JOYCE VANAMAN, Staff Writer, (856) 825-2303
MILLVILLE – The result of an autopsy conducted this past weekend lists electrocution as the cause of death of Mark Voorhees Jr., who was working in an electrical vault at Millville Airport last Thursday. Glenn Nickerson, Cumberland County public information officer, said Monday the autopsy was conducted at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point by Dr. Elliot Gross, medical examiner for Cumberland and Cape May counties. Further study and investigation of the incident is being conducted under the direction of Col. John McCarnan, chief of police for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates Millville Airport. “We are conducting the investigation and evaluation of evidence,” McCarnan said. Voorhees Jr., who would have been 34 this month, was employed by Gary Kubiak & Sons of Allentown, Monmouth County. Cumberland County Prosecutor Arthur Marchand, whose office worked with McCarnan, previously said it looked like Voorhees might have gotten a jolt and then drowned. There was some water in the vault. The victim was removed from the vault by workers and emergency medical personnel. Voorhees was transported to South Jersey Hospital-Newcomb Medical Center in Vineland by the Millville Rescue Squad and was pronounced dead a short time later.

UPDATE, Electrocution Investigation Begins

Monday August 13 10:39 PM EDT

Two investigations were under way Monday after an Allegheny Power worker died Friday morning after receiving a shock from damaged power lines in Bell, Westmoreland County. Two other workers were injured. The incident happened near Route 981 in a wooded part of town. A power line in that area had been damaged during an early morning thunderstorm, causing about 700 people to lose service. About a dozen Allegheny Power investigators and one representative from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the scene Monday to try to determine the cause of the electrocution. “The line they were working on was de-energized at the time they were making repairs,” said Allen Staggers of Allegheny Power. “Now something happened, and that’s what we’re trying to determine.” Thomas Lewis Moyes, 34, of New Kensington, Pa., died at the scene Friday. Edward Copney of Export, Pa., is now in fair condition at Allegheny General Hospital. David Berkebile of New Kensington, Pa., is in serious condition at West Penn Hospital. The OSHA investigator will try to determine a cause and if the company is liable for any violations.

 

2 workers burned in electrical accident

By Cass Peterson, Daily Record

EAST HANOVER — An electrical accident left two workmen critically burned Tuesday morning at a pharmaceutical business on DeForest Avenue. Ralph Newhouse, 41, and Franco Augstan, 37, both of Elizabeth, were working on electrical equipment in the basement of a building at 44 DeForest Ave. about 8:22 a.m. when the accident occurred, police said. The building is occupied by Sidmak Laboratories Inc.  East Hanover Lt. James Monaghan said both men were critically injured, Newhouse suffering burns over 50 percent of his body and Augstan over 14 percent of his body. Both were taken to the St. Barnabas Medical Center burn unit in Livingston, where both were listed in critical condition. Newhouse and Augstan were employed as electricians by Arco Electric of Elizabeth. The cause of the accident had not been determined Tuesday evening, and was under investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and East Hanover police, Monaghan said. Sidmak Laboratories, headquartered in East Hanover, is a maker of generic versions of widely known prescription drugs, including propranolol (Inderal), cimetidine (Tagamet), metronidazole (Flagyl) and cyclosporine (Neoral).

Worker dies in office renovation accident

By Desireé Hunter, The Arizona Republic, July 31, 2001

An electrician who suffered a charge of electricity while doing work renovating an office building in Phoenix this afternoon has died. The name of the 35-year-old man is not being released at this time, said Sargent Doug Mummert with the Phoenix Fire Department. A co-worker had called the fire department at 2:10 p.m. after seeing a flash of electricity and the Phoenix man fall to the ground, Mummert said. It appears the man and another worker had been using water from a cooler when the man slipped. To stop his fall, he reached out to grab something and took hold of electrical wires and was shocked, Mummert said. Upon arrival, paramedics found the man with no pulse or respiratory function. He was taken to John C. Lincoln Hospital but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. The man had been working on the first floor of a building at 10851 N. Black Canyon Access.

 

Bay St. Louis man electrocuted while on the job

BILOXI (AP) — A Gulf Coast utility worker has died after he was electrocuted while on the job. Coast Electric Power Association employee Bernard Mutter III, 43, died Monday afternoon when he touched a primary line while changing a circuit breaker connection on a light pole. Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said between 300,000 and 400,000 volts of electricity passed through Mutter’s body. Hargrove said Mutter was in cardiac arrest when he was transported to Garden Park Medical Center. He died shortly afterward. Coast Electric spokesman Ron Barnes said the company stresses safety and is constantly upgrading its equipment to ensure employees’ safety. Barnes said the company is one of two in Mississippi that is accredited nationally for its safety procedures. Barnes said Coast Electric will “redouble its efforts with our employees to understand safety comes first.”

 

UPDATE, Outlook good for injured LES worker

BY MARGARET REIST Lincoln Journal Star

“Hi, mom.” Those two words made Anita Pellan’s day Thursday, if not her year. They probably rank right up there with the best two words she’s ever heard. Because such greetings – such casual, every-day kind of remarks — take on added significance when they’re said by your 34-year-old son just three days after 7,200 volts of electricity coursed through his body. They mean everything when you’ve sat by his bed in the Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center’s burn unit, when you’ve prayed for your heavily sedated son, a tube down his throat, life support equipment attached to his body. “We just took it moment by moment,” Pellan said Thursday of the accident that critically injured her son Mike Pellan – a Lincoln Electric System employee hit in the neck by a live electric line while he worked near 70th Street and Bluff Road Tuesday morning. “It was really great to hear his voice and realize he recognized us,” said Pellan of North Bend. Mike Pellan, who is unmarried and has two sisters and a brother, has had family members by his side since the accident. Dr. Chet Paul called the recovery miraculous – and he credited the Lincoln man’s survival to a co-worker who got him safely down from the “bucket” he was working in and performed CPR until help arrived. “In all likelihood, he saved his life, so that fellow is a hero,” Paul said. LES officials declined to name the co-worker, who they said was still very upset by what happened. But they also commended him for the action he took – procedures employees are trained in but seldom need to use. The last time contact with an electrical wire injured an employee was in 1997. Before that, it was in the 1980s, said LES Operations Manager Neil Engelman. “It catches our attention and makes us aware of how dangerous electric work is,” he said. Mike Pellan was working on a nonenergized line when he rotated his bucket and inadvertently touched a live line, Engelman said. LES officials are reviewing the accident, and it appears he thought the live wire was below him. Employees were just as happy to learn that their co-worker – who has worked for LES since December but had about five years of experience before that with Nebraska Public Power District – was alert and off most of the life support equipment Thursday. “It’s remarkable in my mind,” Engelman said. “We’ve been with Anita for three days now, we didn’t know what permanent damage there might be.” Dr. Paul said the prognosis for a full recovery is good. Mike Pellan suffered third-degree burns on his neck where the wire touched him, and his right hand where the electricity left his body. He will likely have to undergo some skin grafting on his right arm and hand, Paul said. But the electric contact was not long enough to cause significant damage to his muscles, he said. His mother credits her son’s quick recovery to faith – an important part of their lives. E-mails came to her from acquaintances all over the country who sent their prayers online, she said. “We were just putting our trust in the Lord and our faith, and taking it day by day,” she said.

 

Man hurt when electricity flows in line under repair

A utility worker was seriously injured Wednesday after receiving an electric shock at an apartment complex in northern Charlotte, authorities said. The worker, identified by police as 48-year-old Roger Crump, was working on an underground power line in a hole near the intersection of Canterwood Drive and Elgywood Lane about 1:45 p.m. Somehow, the power was turned on, police said. Several co-workers rushed to help Crump, a Pike Electrical Co. employee. The Charlotte man had stopped breathing before co-workers and paramedics resuscitated him. Medic took Crump to Carolinas Medical Center, where he was in serious condition late Wednesday. The incident occurred at the Maple Run Apartments in the Hidden Valley community. Officials from the N.C. office of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration are investigating.

 

Plumber killed in flat

A plumber has died after being involved in a freak accident while working on a central heating system in a flat. It appears that James Duncan, 55, who had been working alone, was electrocuted. He was found in the bathroom of a flat in Thomson Street, Aberdeen, by the owner of the property. Emergency services who were immediately called to the scene of the tragedy battled to revive Mr Duncan, but were unsuccessful.  The plumber, who had run his own business in the city for a number of years, was well-known throughout the city. Grampian Police and the health and safety executive are investigating the accident and a post mortem will be carried out. A spokesman for the police said: “It is not known how long a period of time there was between the occupier leaving him to get on with the task and him returning to the flat around 2pm to make the discovery.”

 

Theater janitor electrocuted

Posted: 9:31 PM (Manila Time) | August 06, 2001, By Jerome Aning, Inquirer News Service

A JANITOR yesterday morning was electrocuted while looking for the source of a foul smell under an escalator in a moviehouse in Quiapo, Manila. Lorenzo Breiz, 24, married, employed as a janitor at the Tandem Theater on C.M. Recto Avenue in Quiapo and a resident of V. Mapa Street in Sta. Mesa, died on the spot after touching an exposed live wire under the escalator. His fellow janitor, Nestor Ellar, 26, told homicide investigator SPO1 Steve Casimiro that they were searching the escalator for what they suspected was a dead rat. “He asked me to stop the elevator and I did, and he immediately went into a hole at the bottom of the staircase,” Ellar told SPO1 Casimiro.  As soon as he got into the opening, Breiz screamed, his body quivered and then lay still, Ellar said. Breiz was no longer breathing when he was pulled out of the hole, Ellar said. SPO1 Casimiro said an exposed live wire found inside the vent could have touched the victim’s chest, where policemen found a large burn.

 

City BLW worker electrocuted while fixing utility pole; Officials unsure of events leading to man’s death

By Jeffrey Widmer, Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

MARIETTA – A five and a half year employee of the Marietta Board of Lights died after he was electrocuted early Saturday morning as he tried to repair a damaged utility pole on Allgood Road near Cobb Parkway. William Ryan Evans, 24, of Jasper was on a bucket truck attempting to repair the pole at about 5 a.m. when he came into contact with 120 volts of electricity. The incident took place directly in front of Marietta Fire Station No. 6. The pole had been damaged at 5 p.m. Friday in a car accident during heavy rains, said city spokesperson Audrey Griffies. Evans, hired by the city in December 1995 as a member of the tree trimming crew, received medical attention from his co-workers and firefighters at Station No. 6 before being transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he died. Ms. Griffies said no one is exactly sure how the incident occurred. A safety investigation team from the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), which investigates such incidents, has completed its study of the incident and a report will be made available to the public Monday afternoon, she said. “We’re not sure how it happened right now,” Ms. Griffies said. Evans, who was married with a 5-month-old baby, was a tree trimmer for several years before being promoted to an apprentice line worker in 1998. He was a junior line worker when the incident took place. O.D. Reynolds, Marietta Board of Lights and Water manager, expressed sadness at the loss of Evans. “All of us are devastated,” Reynolds said. “Ryan was a fine young man … most of us were not here the last time we had a fatal accident, and this is going to hit the BLW family hard. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ryan’s family.” Saturday’s incident is the first fatal accident involving the BLW since the summer of 1980. That incident occurred at a construction site off Kennesaw Avenue, when a worker was electrocuted and killed while working on a buried power line. Ambulance crews had trouble finding the location of the 1980 incident because at that time, there were no street names at construction sites. Ironically, the mayor and council ordered the city fire department to get into the rescue business as a result, said Phil Chovan, former deputy chief for the fire department.

Kennett Square Man Electrocuted (07/02/01)

A worker is dead after he was electrocuted while cutting down tree limbs in Radnor Township, Delaware County. Township police say officers found 31-year-old Steven Wintz of Newtown Square hanging from a tree shortly after 10:30 Monday morning along Yorkshire Road in the Rosemont section of the township. His co-workers of a tree company told police he had come in contact with a live wire. Wintz was taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

City of Winfield employee who was nearly electrocuted

By Traveler staff

A City of Winfield employee who was nearly electrocuted Tuesday morning was expected to be released today from a Wichita hospital. Kevin Briles, 36, was flown by air ambulance to Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus after being injured while working on a 7,200-volt electrical transformer at Strother Field. Briles was standing on the ground, checking the transformer, when a wire shorted to the ground and blew Briles backward. The hair on his arm and head was singed. Medical personnel said he was transferred to the burn unit in Wichita as a precautionary measure because of the potential for internal injuries.

Fall River man electrocuted

BLACKSTONE — A 50-year-old construction worker is dead after being electrocuted while maneuvering high-voltage wires in a steel cherry picker bucket at the town’s High Rocks sewer project Thursday, police said. The Fall River man was felled by a line with 73,500 volts of electricity. He dropped about 15 feet from the bucket onto the dirt road below and died instantly, police said. Police Chief Ross A. Atstupenas identified the victim as Luis F. Sousa of 271 Glasgow St., Fall River. He was reportedly a foreman on the crew employed by ODF Contracting Co. Inc. of Dorchester, Mass., which has a $2 million contract with the town to install sewerage into the High Rocks area that includes Main and County streets, town officials said. State Police taking charge at the site, between 12 and 13 Staples Ave., about 150 yards from the Blackstone Gorge and dam, immediately shut down the work after the 2 p.m. accident. Local authorities contacted the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is expected to investigate the accident today. “He was in the bucket tying the wires up to raise them,” said Officer Howard McGourty, one of the first emergency personnel to respond. McGourty said that Sousa was 15 to 18 feet off the ground inside the bucket of a piece of heavy equipment that operates like a back hoe with a huge crane-like arm to dig the sewer trenches when something went horribly wrong. He had tied together two or three sections of wires with nylon cord — electrical, cable, telephone — and was attempting to do the same to another section, McGourty said, when apparently a part of the machinery arm attached to the bucket hit the electrical wires. While Sousa was standing in a bucket that was three-quarters filled with sand, rescue workers surmised that Sousa “must have moved or turned,” McGourty said, striking the metal machinery with his back. That’s where the electricity shot into his body, flinging him from the bucket truck, face-first onto the ground, police said. “The (police) detail guy said it was like an explosion, it sounded like a shot,” McGourty said. One older couple living nearby at 13 Staples Ave., Vincent and Marie Erickson, were home when the accident happened. “I was inside ironing and I saw the sparks and I came out to see what happened,” Marie Erickson said. Like everyone nearby, she knew immediately the victim had little chance to survive. “It’s sad. I feel bad for his family,” she said. “The first officer who arrived checked for a pulse and there was none,” said McGourty, who arrived just afterwards along with fire department EMTs. Shortly before 5 p.m., about three hours after the accident, Cartier’s Funeral Home in Bellingham removed the body and transported the deceased to the Worcester County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Police said a work crew of six or seven people from ODF Construction was at the site. Police said they were told that by tying the wires together, the crane-like arm of the machinery, with the bucket attached to it, would be able to swing virtually in a circle on the narrow street, which was supposedly a safe maneuver. “It’s a very unfortunate accident and we’ll just have to see what OSHA says,” said Town Administrator Michael J. Guzinski, who was summonsed to the site as the person responsible for the town’s sewer contract. While Guzinski said he could offer no further details about what happened, he was certain the often-delayed High Rocks project would be postponed indefinitely, pending the OSHA investigation. “They will have to give the town and the contractor the OK to proceed,” he said. Guzinski acknowledged the town has been unhappy with the progress made by ODF Construction, which began work last summer, stopped for the winter and resumed work about three weeks ago. “Our main concern has been the fact they haven’t been as eager to complete the project as quickly as we’d like,” Guzinksi said. Because of additional costs associated with the delays, town meeting voters this spring appropriated an additional $500,000 for the High Rocks sewer project. The initial contract was for $1.8 million. This is part of several sewer projects in various stages of start-up that will cost about $8 million. Guzinski also said ODF “has been switching crews,” causing problems for sewer engineers. He did not know how long Sousa had been working on this project. The accident also caused lost power in the immediate area, although some homeowners, like the Ericksons, said theirs had been restored. Massachusetts Electric Co. was contacted to restore power. Police had no explanation for why the utility company was not asked to move the power lines prior to the accident. “Right now our thoughts and prayers are for the person who was killed and his family,” Guzinski said.

Victim of electrocution identified

News Tribune

 

A man who was electrocuted Friday while working at Georgia-Pacific Co.’s hardboard plant in Superior has been identified as Paul Douglas Roberts.  Roberts, 49, of Foxboro, Wis., had been doing electrical work at the plant in Superior’s North End. He was a field service engineer for sub-contractor ABB Power T&D Co. Georgia-Pacific and ABB Power are investigating the cause of the accident, which was reported Friday at about 11:45 a.m. No one witnessed the incident, according to Superior police. Family members said Saturday they had no details on the events leading up to Roberts’ death. Roberts and his wife, Jean, moved onto a hobby farm in Foxboro in 1995, his daughter Dawn Roberts said Saturday. He kept cattle and horses, and he was a beekeeper. “He was an amazing person, always pretended to be crabby, but he always had a grin on his face,” said Roberts. “He liked teasing people; that’s probably what he’s known for. “Having a farm was a dream. He made it for a while.”

 

Electrical worker critically burned on the job

By Eve Sullivan, Staff Writer

STAMFORD – A Canadian man was severely burned while working on a utility pole yesterday morning on High Ridge Road. Yvon Primo, 53, was listed in critical condition at Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., where he was taken after the 9:25 a.m. incident. Primo, who lives near Montreal, was working for Thiro, a Newington company that subcontracts to Connecticut Light & Power. His crew was transferring wires from one pole to another at 856 High Ridge Road. Witnesses said they heard an explosion, then saw an arc – a luminous discharge of electric current – and a bright flash. “You couldn’t really see the guy in the bucket for a second or so,” said police Officer Paul Mellett, who was stationed at the site. Mellett radioed for help and had Primo’s co-workers lower his bucket to the ground. He said Primo’s flame-retardant clothing partially caught fire. “He was actually conscious,” Mellett said. “He wanted to climb out of the bucket, but we made him stay in.” Deputy Fire Marshal Frank Docimo, who arrived first on the scene with the Turn of River Fire Department, said Primo was standing in the bucket and speaking in French. “It was instantaneous,” Docimo said. “It was just one bright flash, and it was over. In a millisecond, he went from being OK to being severely burned. It was almost like being struck by lightning.” Rescue workers removed Primo’s protective clothing and saw he was extensively burned on the front and back of his body. “It was apparent that this was a life-threatening injury,” Docimo said. “I told my partner to make sure the burn units were on alert.” Docimo said Primo had burns on about 75 percent of his body. Police officers said Primo appeared to be in shock and the skin was peeling off his back. “You could see he had second- and third-degree burns; his clothing was partially burnt off his body,” police Sgt. Clifton Weed said. Deputy Fire Chief Lewis Belmont said rescuers removed Primo’s clothing and placed a sterile sheet around him. They doused the sheet with water. Primo was initially taken to Stamford Hospital and later transported to Westchester County Medical Center’s burn unit. John Swanson, a CL&P supervisor in Glenbrook, arrived on the scene shortly after the accident. “All I know is they were going to do the pole shift,” Swanson said. “They were changing the wires to a new pole.” Swanson said it’s typical for CL&P to work with “energized conductors” and not shut off the power. He said he didn’t know what caused the arc. “There’s so many different things that conduct electricity,” Swanson said. “It could have happened many different ways.” Swanson said Primo appeared to be doing everything right, including wearing protective clothing. Several pieces of Primo’s clothing were scattered around the roadway near the charred bucket, including a burnt orange coverall, rubber gloves, pants and a belt that had to be cut off him. “It happens time to time. It’s not totally unheard of,” Swanson said of the accident. “There are some hazards with the job that need to be taken into consideration.” Primo came to Connecticut with a crew of other Canadians, authorities said. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating at the site yesterday afternoon.

Electrician killed at Toyota plant

CAMBRIDGE – Cambridge’s Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada plant has suffered its first work-related death after the electrocution of a 50-year-old city man yesterday. Around 10 a.m., Gerald M. Leader, a Cambridge electrician with State Group Limited, was working on Toyota’s welding equipment when he was electrocuted. He was rushed to Cambridge Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. State Group is a North America-wide multi-trade company that employs over 2,000 electricians, pipe fitters and iron workers. State Group has been an on-site contractor with Toyota since the Fountain Street North automotive plant opened in 1988. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the worker’s family,” said Ed Ryan, safety director for State Group. It’s the company’s first fatality in its 30 years of existence. He said any State Group employee is required to take safety orientation tests from the company and from Toyota. Also, employees undergo one weekly job safety test a week, he said. Grief counselling is being made available to co-workers and to Leader’s s family, Ryan said. The Ministry of Labour is investigating and wouldn’t comment. Ryan said it’s too early to determine how Leader was electrocuted. “All of Toyota employees and were shocked and, of course, saddened by the accident,” said Steve Kennedy, a Toyota spokesman. He said the company is in a state of grieving. The plant has been on shutdown since Thursday. Production will resume July 23. All of Toyota’s manufacturing plants pride themselves on maintaining impeccable safety standards, Kennedy said. “Safety is our first priority, it always has been.” Last year, three workers died in industrial accidents in Cambridge and North Dumfries. Douglas Loyer, 20, of Kitchener was killed while cleaning a cement mixer at Pavestone Plus last summer. Pavestone was fined $140,000 on July 3. Charges of improper training, and to failure to take reasonable precaution were withdrawn. Bennett-Chev-Olds-Cadillac 2000 on Hespeler Road faces five charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Sean Smith died on Sept. 14 when a limousine he was working under crashed down on him and crushed him. The charges remain before the courts. And April 4 last year, Gorge Ferreira died at Orchid International on Fountain Street, when the 38-year-old welder was crushed after the 2,700-kilogram frame he was working on fell on him. The company is facing three charges.

TRACK WORKER ELECTROCUTED

By DAN MANGAN

July 18, 2001 — A subway track worker was killed yesterday morning after falling onto an electrified third rail in Queens. Samuel McPhaul, 49, of Elmhurst, had been working as a flagman for a track crew at 2 a.m. when he died, said TA spokeswoman Deirdre Parker. McPhaul was pronounced dead at the scene, about 100 feet north of the Grand Avenue station. Service was disrupted on the line for about two hours, Parker said. John Samuelsen, the Transit Workers Union’s track division chairman, said it was the first track-worker death since 1997.

Worker at library site electrocuted
CULVER – A man working on the Culver Library expansion project was electrocuted Thursday. Marshall County Coroner John Grolich said Clairance Strawderman, 45, of Walkerton, was pronounced dead on arrival at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Inc. – Plymouth Campus. Strawderman was employed by W.A. Sheets and Sons of Fort Wayne, one of the contractors working on the library project. The Culver-Union Township Library is being expanded from 4,500 square feet to more than 19,000 square feet in order to meet the needs of the library for the next 20-30 years. The construction project is expected to last between 12 and 15 months. Strawderman was reportedly working with a pumping device to pour concrete walls. Witnesses at the scene said Strawderman did not come in contact with power lines. Investigators believe he may have come too close to the lines and was electrocuted. Efforts were made to revive him at the scene. A 911 call was made to Culver Police, Fire and EMS, but he died before emergency rescue personnel arrived. The incident remains under investigation by the Marshall County Coroner’s office. Frazee man electrocuted while working on car

Associated Press, Thursday, July 19, 2001

FRAZEE — A Frazee man was electrocuted while welding in his garage. Authorities say that 24-year-old Scott Schermerhorn was electrocuted last night when he grabbed the car with his free hand as he welded underneath the vehicle. Schermerhorn’s wife discovered him in the garage, unconscious and not breathing. He was transported to St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes, where he was pronounced dead. Doctors concluded that electrocution was the cause of death.

Miner dies in underground electrical accident

21 July 2001, By Roger Alford, Associated Press

PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A coal miner was electrocuted Friday morning in an underground mine at Slemp. Gary R. Caudill Jr., 26, of Delphia, was pronounced dead at Blue Diamond Coal’s No. 77 mine in southern Perry County. The fatality was the first in Kentucky’s coal industry this year. Inspectors from the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating the cause. Perry County Deputy Coroner Clayton Brown said Caudill, who had been a miner for five years, was working on an electrical panel that controlled a conveyor belt when the electrocution occurred about 2:45 a.m. Brown pronounced Caudill dead at the scene about 4 a.m. It was the first mine fatality in Kentucky since Oct. 4, 2000, said Cathy Prothro, spokeswoman for the Department of Mines and Minerals. “At this point last year there had been six fatalities,” she said. Prothro said the safety of miners is a key concern for regulators in Kentucky, which has had more fatalities than any other state for the last three years. “As always our personnel are out there working hard to make sure every miner is performing his job safely,” she said. MSHA, in a report released in January, said Kentucky accounted for about one-third of the 38 coal miners killed in the United States last year. Thirteen miners were killed in Kentucky mines; nine in West Virginia; four each in Virginia and Utah; two each in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wyoming; and one each in Colorado and Indiana. The last time Kentucky had more than 13 mining deaths was 1993 when 18 miners were killed on the job. More stringent safety procedures and closer oversight by regulatory agencies have greatly decreased mine fatalities over previous decades. Nationally, more than 100 miners were killed each year through the 1970s. In the 1980s, the annual deaths ranged from 53 in 1988 to 125 in 1984. The number of fatalities nationally fell each year from 1990 through 1998, when they reached an all-time low of 29. In 1999, 35 miners died on the job.

Power workers injured at Bay Point

TOM QUIMBY, The News Herald

Two power workers were hospitalized Wednesday with second- and third-degree burns after being electrocuted at Bay Point Beach Resort. Greg Clem and Darrell Watson, who are employees of Asplundh, were working for Gulf Power under contract. Jennifer Clem said her husband suffered second-degree burns to his arm, neck and back. He will have to stay at Bay Medical Center for two weeks, she said. Watson suffered a third-degree burn to his arm, Jennifer Clem said. Gulf Power supervisor David King said the utility had contracted with Asplundh to replace power lines at the resort. Clem and Watson were trying to install new lines at the resort’s main switching relay near Marlin Circle and Wahoo Road when they were electrocuted. “They were putting an elbow on the conduit (inside the relay housing),” said a Gulf Power employee. “There was a huge flash. I don’t know what went wrong. It’s dangerous work.” The sound of the electrical surge was the equivalent of a shotgun blast going off in their faces, the employee said. The relay’s main fuse was blown, knocking out power to parts of the resort. Electricity was restored a few hours later. Two doctors getting ready to tee off on a nearby golf course rushed to help the men. The men’s charred clothes were left near the relay. In the past month and a half, Asplundh employees have installed about 10,000 feet of wire and conduit at Bay Point. Gibbons said they expected to be done in about a week. Asplundh, a company that built its name in tree trimming and removal, has been contracting with Gulf Power for about three years. Employees perform many of the same jobs that Gulf Power technicians do. “They do everything now,” said a Gulf Power employee. “They do overhead work, trenching, digging, boring – they do all of it.”

KCPL worker killed in Olathe identified

Patrick J. Powers, Daily News Reporter

Authorities have identified 35-year-old Mickey Lynn Williams, of Harrisonville, Mo., as the man killed Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly touched a live electrical wire. Williams, a Kansas City Power and Light employee for 10 years, allegedly was working on a power line outside on an electrical pole when he struck the live wire and fell to the ground. He was taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center, 10500 Quivira Road, where he was pronounced dead. There are two teams investigating the incident to determine the exact cause of death, said Tom Robinson, a KCPL spokesman. One investigation will be conducted by KCPL management and the other by a compliance officer with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “I imagine that it would be quite some time until they release any information,” Robinson said. If OSHA discovers the need to issue KCPL a citation, it must be done within six months of the employee’s death, otherwise there is no timeline for its investigation, said Kris Lenoch, an assistant area director for OSHA. “We never have one in reality, because there’s so many unexpected things in an investigation,” Lenoch said. She added that the investigation of Williams’ death isn’t unusual -anytime an employee dies on the job, OSHA is called to investigate. “There is an obligation for the employer to call us within an eight-hour time frame,” Lenoch said. The last time KCPL had an employee killed on the job was 1990, Robinson said.

Alamosa plumber electrocuted

By ERIN SMITH, The Pueblo Chieftain

ALAMOSA – A plumber died Tuesday morning while working on a house about 4 miles west of Alamosa and just north of U.S. 160. Deputy County Coroner Harry Alejo said he suspected that electrocution was the cause of death for Matthew Medina, 28, a plumber with Husmann Plumbing of Alamosa. An autopsy will be conducted this morning in Colorado Springs at the El Paso County Coroner’s office. Medina reportedly was working underneath a home at 5291 Del Viento in the Jonesville Subdivision about 11 a.m. when the accident happened. Medina was taken to the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Workers in critical condition after truck hits power lines

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two brothers were in critical condition with second and third degree burns, and a third man in fair condition early Monday morning after their truck hit power lines as they worked on a construction project. The brothers — one of which suffered second to third degree burns on 50 percent of his body and the other on 30 to 40 percent — were in the burn intensive care unit at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda said. The accident happened shortly after 4 a.m. as a concrete pumping crew was working on the Alameda Corridor rail project, which aims to link the harbor area to downtown, Los Angeles City Fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said. As their truck swiveled, the “boom” — a part of the truck that extends to pump and transport the concrete — came in contact with both 34,500 volt and 4,800 volt power lines, he said. “The victims were leaning against a metal fence when the fence became energized causing them to be shocked and clothing to catch fire,” Humphrey said. A 56-year old man, who was operating the boom truck, suffered minor burns to elbows and back. He was in fair condition, Humphrey said. A fourth victim received minor burns to his hands when workers tried to put out the flames, he said. All four, whose names were not released, were transported to the hospital. As a result of the incident, electricity was lost in parts of the mostly industrial area of south-central Los Angeles, said Department of Water and Power spokeswoman MaryAnne Pierson. Workers arrived at the scene and “de-energized lines,” which is routine in incident-related cases. “But the initial outage was caused by the boom going into the lines,” she said. Pierson was not sure how many customers were affected or when power would be restored.

Lineman stable after receiving 7,200-volt shock

By John J. Archibald, of the Northwestern

WINCHESTER A Wisconsin Electric Power Company lineman is in stable condition and headed to a Madison hospital after 7,200 volts shocked him on a town of Winchester line. The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. Friday on Sauby Road just south of the Meyer Lane intersection. Linemen with bucket trucks had worked to restore power lost in Monday nights storm when the man touched a conductor. A resident of the area, Vernadine Knaack said her husband, Charles, saw the accident scene. They were bringing him (the lineman) down in the bucket and he was slumped over the bucket, she said. A ThedaStar helicopter landed in an oat field and flew the lineman to Theda Clark Medical Center, where he was listed as stable, said Chris Iglar, Wisconsin Electric spokesman. Since then, hes been transferred to University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, Iglar said. A Wisconsin Electric Power Company man who didnt identify himself said repairs at the site had closed for the rest of the day after the accident. The location is a few miles west of the intersections of highways 110 and 150, about 12 miles northwest of Oshkosh city limits.

Virco employee in electrical incident

By SAMANTHA HUSEAS, Log Cabin Staff Writer

Thursday, June 14, 2001

A Virco Mfg. Corp. employee remained hospitalized Wednesday in fair condition after an electrical shock incident Tuesday night at the Virco Warehouse. David Johnson “received an electrical shock while attempting to charge a forklift battery” according to Glen Parish, Virco vice-president and Conway division general manager. Parish said he did not know a great deal about the incident but said “we’re investigating it right now.” He added everything possible will be done to prevent a similar accident in the future. Johnson was transported to Conway Regional Medical Center following the accident and remains there. According to Conway Fire Department incident reports, firefighters were dispatched to the warehouse at 10:07 a.m. Tuesday.

Man loses arms, but inspires many

By Carolyne Park, Staff Writer

Jesse Sullivan of Dayton, Tenn., may have lost both his arms, but that has not kept him from touching the hearts of many. Five weeks ago Mr. Sullivan, 54, was badly injured when 7,200 volts of electricity passed through his body. Severe tissue damage caused him to have his arms amputated. But family members, doctors and hospital staff said he has remained upbeat and positive, and has been an inspiration to all. Mr. Sullivan said he is just glad to be alive. “I just feel grateful that God spared me,” he said. “It should have gone straight through my heart and killed me. I got more left than I ever lost.” The accident happened the afternoon of May 9. Mr. Sullivan was working as a lineman for the Electric Power Board in Rhea County. The last thing he remembers before the accident was being in a lineman’s bucket on Spence Cemetary Road, Mr. Sullivan said. He had been on the job for 23 years and the work was routine. “I don’t remember a thing that happened in the bucket,” Mr. Sullivan said. When he awoke his co-workers had pulled him out. “The fella I’ve worked with for years and years was holding me and telling me not to leave,” Mr. Sullivan said. From Rhea County Hospital he was transferred to the burn unit at Erlanger hospital and remained semiconscious for 15 days. Carolyn, his wife of 17 years, has stayed with him throughout the ordeal. She said the first days were the hardest. “For the first five days I thought he would die,” she said. Dr. Lesley Wong is the medical director of Erlanger’s burn unit and has been treating Mr. Sullivan since he arrived. Electrical burn patients usually have organ damage, but Mr. Sullivan did not, she said. “He’s the worst that I’ve seen in terms of tissue loss,” Dr. Wong said, but added “he is almost miraculously lucky that nothing else happened.” As far as they know, Mr. Sullivan’s heart did not miss a beat, Dr. Wong said. Mr. Sullivan has had seven surgeries and is undergoing physical therapy to help him adapt, Dr. Wong said. In the next week or so he is expected to fly to Chicago to be fitted for specially-designed prosthetic arms. Even with everything he has been through, Mr. Sullivan has remained upbeat, Dr. Wong said. “He’s unbelievable,” she said. “His attitude is just a tribute to humanity.” Tammy Berens, a registered nurse in the burn unit, agrees. “He has been an inspiration to us and so many patients,” she said. “He’s been amazing, we’ve all just fallen in love with him. “He told us when he got his prosthetics he would come back and give us all a big hug,” she said. Mr. Sullivan speaks highly of those who have cared for him. They’re fantastic,” he said. “I call them my guardian angels.” He attributes his survival to the grace of God. “Most men that take 7200 volts like that are dead,” he said. “He left me here for a reason.” Mr. Sullivan and his wife have six children and eight grandchildren. Dr. Wong said the strength and support of his family and friends has made treatment easy, and helped in his recovery. Mrs. Sullivan said the accident has not changed her husband. “Jesse is the same man he has always been, but now everybody has the pleasure of meeting him,” she said of the many friends the couple have made since the accident. Mr. Sullivan said he and his wife, who he describes as his “rock,” plan to take life one day at a time. For now, he is looking forward to getting his prosthetic arms. “I’m going to get to be like Inspector Gadget,” he said.

Worker in Critical Condition After Electric Shock

6/15/01 12:16 PM

A 29 year old man is in critical condition after being shocked while trimming trees near Des Peres this morning. The employee worked for Asplundh contracting. He was trimming the trees under contract to Ameren UE. He was shocked when his saw came in contact with a power line. The line carried 72-hundred volts of electricity. Eyewitnesses say the man was screaming from the tree after he was burned. The injured man’s co-worker risked injury himself by breaking the power line with his saw. At last report the injured worker was in critical condition at a local hospital.

SPECIAL ALERT: Home Safety!

June 16, 2001

CHICAGO — A Chicago elementary school teacher was electrocuted while using an electrical trimmer on her lawn when an exposed part of an extension cord touched wet grass, authorities said. Cecelia Castillo, 45, of the 2900 block of West 38th Place was found by her brother at about 8:20 p.m. Thursday in her back yard, said a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner. Castillo was trimming around the hedges in her bare feet when the extension cord she was using hit the wet grass, officials said. The cord had been repaired using electrical tape, but a piece was exposed. Castillo, a mother of two and a 1st-grade teacher at Pullman Elementary School on the Far South Side, was pronounced dead more than two hours later in St. Anthony Hospital. The medical examiner ruled her death an accident.

Power pole falls, injuring 3

Tuesday, June 19, 2001, By Steve Gunn, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

Three men working for Consumers Energy, including a Grand Haven man, were injured Monday when a pole they were working on in Holton Township fell to the ground. All three men were transported to area hospitals, according to a Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department report. One man remained hospitalized, and none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday when the men were building a power line on property along the 3300 block of Dagen Road near Sweeter Road. At least one of the men was apparently on the pole when it fell, but it was not known this morning whether the other two were on the pole or the ground. One of the men injured in the accident was Doug Pellegrom, 35, of 13486 Greenbriar in Grand Haven. He was apparently on the pole when the mishap occurred and fell about 35 feet, according to a spokesman for Hackley Hospital. He was treated and released for minor injuries. Also transported to Hackley Hospital was Conrado Ortiz, 52, of Albion, who was listed in stable condition this morning after being shocked by electricity. A third victim, Eugene Alfaro, 41, of Holland, was treated and released from Mercy Hospital with minor injuries. The nature of his injuries, or what caused them, was not known this morning. Tim Pietryga, a spokesman for Consumers Energy, said the utility would not release information about the victims or what might have caused the pole to fall. It was unclear this morning whether the workers were employees of Consumers or contractors.

Bishopville crane operator electrocuted

By Liz Holland, Somerset Herald

PRINCESS ANNE – A 28-year-old Bishopville man was electrocuted Thursday when a crane he was operating touched an overhead power line on Old Princess Anne-Westover Road. Michael Gray was pronounced dead at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, despite efforts by two nearby homeowners and Princess Anne Volunteer Fire Company paramedics to revive him. Gray, who worked for White’s Construction Co. of Willards, was installing new power lines to buildings owned by Eastern Shore Forest Products when the accident happened. Terry Shreaves and Tomeka Murray, who live near the site, said one of Gray’s coworkers ran to their homes for help. Both women called 911 and were directed to administer CPR until an ambulance arrived. Shreaves and Murray, along with two men they believed were employees of the construction company, stayed with Gray until paramedics arrived. Neither woman is trained in CPR, but followed instructions from one of the men, Shreaves said. ”Everybody really should learn (CPR),” she said. Gray apparently had his hands on the controls of the crane when it touched the power line. The crane was on the back of a truck parked just off the road on the side of a field, and Gray was standing outside the vehicle at the time. Shreaves said a jolt of electricity also ignited the truck’s tires. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office blocked off the area until Conectiv Power Delivery workers were able to turn off the power so the truck and crane could be removed from the site.

Six burned in battery explosion on central Alberta industrial site

Canadian Press

BLACKFALDS, Alta. (CP) – Six workers were burned, at least two seriously, after an explosion Wednesday at an oil and gas battery site in a remote area of central Alberta. The explosion happened about 11 a.m. while a tank at the site was being serviced, said Cpl. Terry Best of the Red Deer RCMP rural detachment.  “There were a group of employees inspecting a tank of some sort,” Best said. “There was an electrical short from an extension cord they were using for the trouble light and the electrical short caused an explosion inside the tank.  “I believe it was from inside the tank and the employees were blown away from the site of the explosion.” The battery, owned by NAL Resources of Calgary, is located about 10 kilometres east of Blackfalds. Such batteries clean and treat oil or gas before it is put into a pipeline. Elaine McFadden, spokeswoman for the David Thompson Regional Health Authority, said all six of the injured were men. The two most seriously hurt were taken to hospitals in Calgary and Edmonton.  Jeff McIntosh, a photographer for The Canadian Press, saw one worker being brought into Calgary’s Foothills Hospital. “His shoulder and face was really burned and charred,” McIntosh said. “It was melted into his flesh. I don’t think he was conscious. He was swollen and his face and chest were reddened. He had an oxygen mask on his face. They took him from the helipad and wheeled him directly into the hospital.” The man, whose name has not been released, was in serious condition in the hospital’s burn unit. The man taken to University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton has been identified as Ron Callan, 37. He was in good condition, said a hospital spokeswoman. Two other workers were in stable condition at Lacombe Hospital, and the other two were in stable condition in the emergency room at Red Deer Regional Hospital. Jonathan Lexier of NAL Resources said the battery had been shut down during the maintenance, so no fumes or leaks got into the environment. “The facility was shut down for scheduled maintenance at the time. It was not processing hydrocarbons. It was immediately secured. At no time were nearby residents or the general public in danger,” he said in an interview from Calgary. He said nearest residents were more than half a kilometre away. “Work on the site won’t continue until safety inspectors complete their investigation,” Lexier added. Investigators from Alberta Human Resources and Employment as well as the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board were at the site to determine what happened. Blackfalds is about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton.

Worker electrocuted at University of Akron

05/17/01

AKRON – An Akron man was electrocuted last night while trying to fix a power failure at the University of Akron. The Summit County medical examiner said Douglas R. Young, 35, was pronounced dead at 7:42 p.m., about 35 minutes after the accident. Tony Barnes, a spokesman for the university, said Young was trying to restore power to the new Student Center being built on campus next to the Gardner Center, the current student center. Barnes said Young, an employee of Thompson Electric Co., was working in a switch gear room at the site when he apparently touched a high voltage line.

A man was found dead in the Mountasia entertainment park in the 2400 block of Premier Street in Plano Wednesday afternoon after a possible electrocution.

Thomas Mayes, 21, had only worked in the maintenance department of the park for three days. He had been repairing a light fixture in an area that held a small body of water. He was found unconscious in the water, and attempts were made to resuscitate him. Despite efforts to revive him, Mayes died at the scene. Police say electrocution was probably the cause of Mayes death, however, Richard Beckard, CEO of Mountasia, said electrocution was one possibility, but they are not completely sure that is what happened. The company is investigating the incident. “We are trying to sort out what happened; this is obviously a tragic thing,” Beckard said. Beckard said the company was saddened by this and Mayes’ family is in everyone’s thoughts. “It’s a shock to the organization,” he said. “We are certainly concerned. We’re most concerned about his family.” Mayes was married and had three young children.

 

Five hurt in blast from live crane

Five workers were injured yesterday when a crane brushed overhead wires at Cordeaux Dam near Picton.  The electrical surge caused the crane’s front tires to explode, scattering debris over a large area.  The driver, 46, who is believed to have suffered heart complications, and his co-worker, 38, were airlifted to Liverpool Hospital. The contractors, were allowed to leave late yesterday.  The other workers – two contractors and a Sydney Catchment Authority employee – were taken to Liverpool Hospital with shrapnel injuries and later released.  NRMA Careflight executive director Mr Ian Badham said the crane became “alive” when its jib came close to 33,000-volt power lines at the dam.  “While the crane apparently did not touch the lines, electricity arced from the high tension supply to the crane,” he said.  Ambulance spokesman Mr Jeff Woods said the men were extremely lucky, considering the high voltage of the wires and the widespread damage caused by the blast.  A Sydney Catchment Authority spokesman said the dam and nearby picnic area was closed to the public yesterday while WorkCover officers investigated.  The authority would also conduct its own investigation.  The spokesman said the popular picnic area at Cordeaux Dam had later been reopened.