Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120140934 - Boulevard Lumber & Mercantile Co, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

Two employees went to a residence to work on an electric water-well pump. One of the employees went into a well house to disconnect the wiring to the pump, which they were going to pull from the well. Concurrently, the other employee was setting up a truck-mounted water-well work-over rig to hoist the pump from the well. (A SEMCO hoist, (Model 86000, Ser 1247) with a capacity of 2721 kilograms was mounted to the rig.) Neither employee had noticed the 12-kilovolt overhead power lines near the well. The employee in the well house stated that he heard a groan, went outside, and saw the rig operator being shocked. The boom and the load line had contacted the power line. The rig operator stood frozen to the unit's metal controls. The coworker struck the back of the rig operator's knees with a length of PVC pipe to knock him free and cause him to fall away from the controls. The electric current started a grass fire and ignited the rig operator's tennis shoes. The coworker administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, successfully resuscitating the injured employee, moved him away from the fire, and doused the flames. Emergency medical services transported the injured employee to a burn center, where he was hospitalized with third-degree burns on his foot and second-degree burns on his arms and hands.

Keywords: BURN, CLOTHING, WELL SERVICE RIG, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, BOOM, FIRE, E GI IA, ELECTRIC SHOCK, LOAD LINE