Inspection Detail

Inspection: 308768019 - Singing River Electric Power Association

Inspection Information - Office: Jackson Area Office

Investigation Summary

On Thursday, July 21, 2005, three employees, of Singing River Electric Power Association, responded to a power outage following a thunderstorm at White Chapel M.B. Church on Vernal River Road in lower Greene County, Mississippi. Employee #1 and Employee #2 found that the 10 kVA CSP transformer serving the church was tripped. They also found that lightning had struck the top of a 175 Watt Mercury Vapor security light, causing the secondary neutral on a number 6 duplex service wire to split and burn. The Number 6 conductor was the return path for the 123 VAC circuit, which powered three security lights at the church. Employee #1 and Employee #2 were concerned that the transformer feeding the church's 120/240 VAC service, as well as the security light circuit, might have also been damaged. Thinking the broken neutral was energized, Employee #1 told Employee #2 that he needed to wear his rubber gloves to see what repairs were needed. Employee #3 arrived and parked his truck in the edge of Vernal River Road opposite the transformer pole. Employee #2 shouted to Employee #3 to close the handle on the 10 KVA CSP transformer, with the extendo stick, which Employee #2 had left hooked into the CSP switch's handle-ring. His bagged insulated (30,000 volt) rubber gloves were with him hanging inside the bucket. Employee #2 lowered truck number 32's boom back down and it remained in the bucket. Before going back up, Employee #2 had Employee #1 give him a hot hoist, grips, crimp tool and crimp which were necessary to splice the neutral back together. Employee #3 shouted back that the transformer was indeed hot. Employee #1 again told Employee #2 that he needed to wear his rubber insulated gloves while working on this broken duplex neutral. Employee #2 proceeded back up in the bucket. A short time later, Employee #1 and Employee #3 heard Employee #2 holler. Employee #3 immediately grabbed the extendo stick and opened the CSP switch killing power to the service line. Employee #1 ran back to Truck Number 32 and found Employee #2 slumped down in the bucket, with his arms draped over the sides of the basket. It appeared that Employee #2 had grabbed both ends of the severed neutral with his bare hands and was severely shocked. Employee #1 jumped on the truck and brought the insulated boom and basket down to the ground. He and Employee #3, along with a member of the church brought Employee #2 out of the basket and laid him on the ground beside Truck #32 and began CPR. Employee #3 called for an ambulance. An ambulance arrived at 8:11 p.m., and he was transported to the George County Hospital in Lucedale, MS, where he later died.

Keywords: REPAIR, BOOM, ELECTROCUTED, ELECTRICAL WORK, HOIST, LIGHTNING, ELECTRIC SHOCK