Inspection Detail

Inspection: 124616624 - Icg Electric Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Utah Division Of Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Three employees (a journeyman electrician and two apprentice electricians) of an electrical contractor were working in a mechanical hallway. The journeyman electrician was sitting on an insulated steam pipe located about 8 feet above the floor. The working space was limited because of other (HVAC, condensation, steam, and compressed air) pipes hanging at about the same level. The electrician was working on a junction box mounted on the wall. The junction box contained conductors for an energized 277-volt, 20-ampere lighting circuit. He was connecting wiring for new fixtures to the existing wiring in the box. The hallway was hot because of the steam pipes, and the electrician was sweating heavily. He asked one of the apprentices to hand him a screwdriver. As the apprentice did this, he heard a sizzling sound. He looked up and saw the electrician in contact with energized parts of the circuit. The apprentice twice tried to push the electrician away, but was knocked down both times. The apprentice then went to a circuit breaker cabinet in the hallway to deenergize the circuit. None of those circuit breakers controlled the lighting circuit, however, so he went through a door to an adjacent room. The workers in that room were employed by a dairy. One of them called for emergency medical services, and the others went into the hallway. They used a board to separate the injured employee from the energized parts and administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation until the emergency medical services arrived. In spite of these efforts, the electrician died of electrocution.

Keywords: LIGHTING CIRCUIT, E GI IV, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICIAN, ELECTROCUTED, ELECTRICAL WORK, LOCKOUT, ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR, ELECTRICAL BOX