Abstract: On May 13, 2008, Employee #1, who was a foreman, attempted to perform cable splicing in an underground electrical vault, which contained a Trayer submersible vacuum switchgear that had conductors energized at 12,000 volts. The vault was located at a residential construction site in Fremont, California. According to Employee #1, who was the only witness on the day of the accident, his immediate supervisor told him to connect cables to the switchgear; therefore, he went to the switchgear to do the requested work. Employee #1 opened the lid to the vault at approximately 8:30 a.m. Employee #1 placed a ladder into the vault to descend into the vault. Employee #1 stood on the top of the switchgear and Employee #1 did not notice any vibration or noise coming from the switchgear. This contributed to Employee #1 believing the switchgear was not energized. Employee #1 proceeded to remove three candle elbows for terminal conductor points or bushings on the switchgear so that Employee #1 could begin connecting cables to the switchgear. When Employee #1 removed the third or last candle elbow, an electrical flash or large ball of light occurred. The flash generated a loud bang. Employee #1 felt a substantial amount of pain. Employee #1 tried to ascend the nearby ladder to get out of the underground vault. Employee #2, who heard the loud bang, went to help Employee #1 get out of the underground vault. Employee #3 called for emergency assistance. The gloves worn by Employee #1 had holes/tears from the electricity that entered/exited Employee #1's hands. The gloves were Tool Handz PLUS Reinforced Snug-Fitting types. On the day of the accident, the weather was sunny. There was no water in the underground vault. Employee #1 did not receive electrical safety training dealing with high voltage equipment. Employee #1 is not certified as an electrician/electrical trainee in the state of California. Employee #1 had never used any voltage testing equipment to determine if conductors/equipment are energized. According to Pacific Gas and Electric, which owns the switchgear, the accident resulted in 182 customers losing power. After the accident, Employee #1 was admitted to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, California, but was later admitted to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California. Employee #1 was admitted to both hospitals on May 13, 2008. Employee #1 suffered third and second degree burns to hands, and first degree burns to entire surface of the face to the neck. Employee #1 also suffered temporary loss of hair on his head and face. The employer failed to provide any electrical safety training records for Employee #1 after the employer was given a request for safety training records. The cause of the accident was Employee #1 performed electrical work on energized equipment/switchgear without using proper safety controls for energized equipment. These controls include using voltage testing equipment before performing electrical work to determine if equipment was energized, having only a qualified electrical worker perform work on high voltage equipment, wearing safety gloves that are rated for voltage that may be encountered, and following proper de-energizing provisions for work on high voltage equipment.