Abstract: An employee was installing a television cable in the attic of a private residence. The employee would normally use flashlights for illumination; however, of his two flashlights, one was dead and the other was weak. In their place, he found a metal-clamp-type portable electric light at the residence. He connected his ungrounded extension cord set to an outlet and plugged the portable light into it. He walked through the attic, putting down the electric cord. The previous owner of the residence had installed a smoke detector in the attic, and all the wiring in the attic was in metal conduit. The employee caught his foot on a conduit and lost his balance. He grabbed the vertical conduit at the smoke detector and was electrocuted. A ground fault in the light had energized its metal frame. (It was energized even with the switch open.) The light showed visible signs of repair and was taped with masking tape.