Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303317671 - Unique Services Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Milwaukee Area Office

Investigation Summary

An employer was moving his office to a new location. Three employees were removing an antenna from the side of their employer's old office so that it could be moved to the new one. The hollow antenna mast was 12.5 meters long and grounded to a metal pipe by the side of the building. The employees decided to try to avoid hitting the trucks parked on the company parking lot. A 4800-volt, single-phase overhead power line and a secondary power line ran along the opposite side of the house. One employee removed the device securing the antenna to the wall of the building, about 4.6 meters above the ground. Another employee, who was on the ground, started walking with the mast. The antenna contacted the 4800-volt power line, fell, and eventually came to rest on the secondary power line. The employee on the ground, who was holding the bottom of the antenna mast received an electric shock, lost consciousness, and fell, striking his head on a concrete slab behind him. Current passed through him until the fuse on the power line opened the circuit. (Electrical burns were found on his right foot but not on his hands.) The employee on the roof, who had also been holding the antenna, was not burned. (The original form did not state whether or not he received an electric shock.) The third employee received an electric shock when he tried to push the victim away and was himself thrown away. (This employee was not listed on an injury line on the original form.) After a short delay, this employee called for help. The electric utility, the police, and emergency medical services responded. The rescuers administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to the unconscious employee to no avail. He died of electrocution.

Keywords: OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, CPR, ELECTROCUTED, ELECTRIC SHOCK, ANTENNA, E GI IC