Appliance delivery boy electricuted last night

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Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
Got a call last night from a frequent landlord client of mine. She said that the appliance man got electricuted and left the premises, and now the tenant doesnt have any heat in the house. And also she said "by the way, I want you to rebuild the service as soon as you can".....:rolleyes:

So I got there, I asked what happend...the tennant said that they rented a dryer from a rent-to-own place, and the delivery guy had to put the cord on the dryer. Then he had to make an adjustment to the connection and it shocked him really bad, and he left. So I asked, "he did this while it was plugged in"? and they said yes....

So after checking checking around with my trusty wiggy, I find that there is no 240v in the house, only one leg or phase is hot, the other is very weak. So this leaves the hvac and the dryer unfunctional...

So this eventualy takes me out to the pole in the back yard, and I find a loose kearney at the weatherhead. No problem so I unload the meter,pull it, tighten the connection...then I start noticeing, what to me is a suprise.


No main breaker at the pole, its been removed !!

Where the triplex lands on the house from the pole, it kearneys onto a #10 wire (among other unprotected connections) which was previously dead. This wire is unprotected and enters the house via going right into the mortar (limestone rock house) then goes across the length of the house via attic to the duo pack hvac unit with No protectection what so ever.

I reluctantely got the peoples "heat on", but called the landlord, and told her that she had a severe liability and it needed to be fixed asap....she said get-r-done

This make two of these type calls, Ive received this week...what keeps these people from being killed?

In this day and time, I wouldnt own one of those ratty ole rent house's for fear of being sued for may various reasons....couldnt sleep at night, knowing what I know.:rolleyes:
 
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roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
Well, to be correct, the delivery boy just got shocked, if he had been electrocuted he wouldn't have left with out being on a gurney. :)

Roger
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
You guys are correct, I was just using the language that they relayed to me....
PA is one state that can still put people in the electric chair for the death penalty. The death warrant will read "electrocuted until dead", so I guess you can electrocute someone and not kill them.

From Wiki, take it or leave it:
"Electrocution is also frequently used incorrectly to refer only to a fatal electric shock. However, non-fatal electrocutions are a common household injury. Always use caution when dealing with live voltage."
 

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
PA is one state that can still put people in the electric chair for the death penalty. The death warrant will read "electrocuted until dead", so I guess you can electrocute someone and not kill them.

My guess was the kid, got shocked pretty good, and was rattled behond continueing....:rolleyes: But it just really amazes me at the amount of un-trained people coming into harms way, and it further amazes me at the amount of dangerous wiring that exist.....this kid had NO protection, other than the stinger fuse at the transformer. The amount of AIC was up there
 

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
dictionary results for: electrocuted
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
e⋅lec⋅tro⋅cute   /ɪˈlɛktrəˌkyut/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [i-lek-truh-kyoot] Show IPA Pronunciation

?verb (used with object), -cut⋅ed, -cut⋅ing.
1. to kill by electricity.
2. to execute (a criminal) by electricity, as in an electric chair.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
dictionary results for: electrocuted
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
e⋅lec⋅tro⋅cute   /ɪˈlɛktrəˌkyut/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [i-lek-truh-kyoot] Show IPA Pronunciation

?verb (used with object), -cut⋅ed, -cut⋅ing.
1. to kill by electricity.
2. to execute (a criminal) by electricity, as in an electric chair.

I've flipped open a couple of my wife's nursing books, and I've found two so far that have "electrocution injury" in the index. If you're injured, you're not dead, are you? Not saying, just asking.
 

charlie

Senior Member
Location
Indianapolis
From Merriam-Webster Unabridged ? 2000, I don't buy a new dictionary very often. :smile:

1 : to put to death as a legal punishment by causing a fatally large electric current to pass through the body 'electrocute a criminal' 'a person may be electrocuted for treasonable activities in some states'
2 : to kill by electric shock 'the lineman was electrocuted when he happened to touch a power wire'
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
But it just really amazes me at the amount of un-trained people coming into harms way, and it further amazes me at the amount of dangerous wiring that exist.....this kid had NO protection


Think about it like this, you are the guy that just hooked this death trap back up for them.

There is no way I'm going to leave a circuit hot with no over current protection. Not even temporary. If I don't have the time to do the repair correctly there are lots of other contractors out there.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
I got this thing figured out, at least on the medical end. Before 1995, there were classifications for fatal and non-fatal electrocutions. After 1995, electrocution always means fatal, and non-fatal injuries are called "non-fatal effects of electric current".

I'm still a little bit confused, though, because this CDC document from 2002 says, "The individual experienced a non-fatal electrocution using the same piece of equipment approximately 3 months earlier and required hospitalization for his injuries."

http://www.cdc.gov/Niosh/FACE/stateface/mi/02mi152.html

Probably just the pre-1995 nomenclature hanging on.
 
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GUNNING

Senior Member
missed opportunity

missed opportunity

I'm sure the word Electrocuted would only be important to those trying to figure out how to fill in the blank and not the person electrocuted. As for the breaker missing I would go ahead and tell them I had to replace the main etc etc to fix the problem. The body is not part of my job description. People don't want to know the details just that it's fixed.
 

bjp_ne_elec

Senior Member
Location
Southern NH
.........leaves the hvac and the dryer unfunctional...

So this eventualy takes me out to the pole in the back yard, and I find a loose kearney at the weatherhead. No problem so I unload the meter,pull it, tighten the connection...then I start noticeing, what to me is a suprise.


No main breaker at the pole, its been removed !!

Where the triplex lands on the house from the pole, it kearneys onto a #10 wire (among other unprotected connections) which was previously dead. This wire is unprotected and enters the house via going right into the mortar (limestone rock house) then goes across the length of the house via attic to the duo pack hvac unit with No protectection what so ever.

Mule - first of all, what are "kearneys"? And if I'm reading this, you worked them "hot"?

Main breaker at the pole? Never heard of such a thing. What POCO? At the pole, the only thing we might see is fuses - but they're not designed to protect the service drops, they generall protect the transformer and it's load.
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
October is National Fire Awareness Week.
Seems fitting, change in the weather can effect loose or loosen up stuff!

NFPA is the sponsor




"NFPA has taken the lead in public fire safety outreach by serving as the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week for 86 years. The annual public awareness and safety commemoration, which is proclaimed by the President of of the
 
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