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Woodshock - Case Studies

DID YOU KNOW...

(Source: The Electrical Safety Authority)

  • Between 1999 and 2008, Ontario reported 178 fatalities: 95 deaths by electrocution and 83 deaths caused by electrical fires.
  •  In the ten-year span between 1999 and 2008 there were 95 electrocutions in Ontario; 64 in the workplace and 31 in non-occupational settings.
  • From 1999 to 2003 there were 12 power line deaths involving ladders.  From 2004 to 2008 there were none.
  • Between 1998 and 2008, the annual number of buried power cable dig-ins reported to the Ontario Ministry of Labour rose from 28 to over 100.
  • Between 1998 and 2005, the annual number of electrical injuries in Ontario declined.  In 1998 and 1999, there were more than 100 injuries reported.  The numbers in 2004 and 2005 were reduced to less than 60 injuries per year.
  • There were 32,584 electrical fires in Ontario from 1998 to 2007.


The following Accident Reports should serve as a serious reminder of what can, and has happened to individuals who were not sufficiently alert or aware when in the presence of electricity.

REMEMBER: The flow of elecricity through the human body can kill - it doesn't take much. Less than one ampere of electicity can burn, severely injure or cause death. Always be cautious and alert in the presence of electricity.

(Reports Source: The Annual Accident Statistics Reports published by the Canadian Electricity Association)


Year Fatality
1997

Alberta - While working on a road-widening project, a man was electrocuted while standing beside his gravel truck which was dumping gravel underneath a 25 kV line.


Year Fatality
 

2008

Alberta – a service rig parked directly under a power line was being prepared for a move.  The boom was raised and contacted one of the conductors.  A worker touched the rig and received a fatal shock.

Saskatchewan – one man was fatally injured while erecting a grain bin.  The bin was being moved with a crane and the crane contacted a power line.  The victim had tried to steady the load and was electrocuted.

2007

Saskatchewan – farmer was towing a grain bin that hit a power line.  The hitch on the grain bin broke free of the bin and the power line remained in contact with the top of the bin.  Farmer backed the tractor up to rehook the bin, likely unaware that the wires remained on the bin.  Upon contacting the bin he was fatally injured. 

Ontario – A sign company employee was changing a sign in a plaza working from an aluminum ladder.  Worker’s head contacted a distribution line.  He was killed.

2006

Alberta – Air quality testing equipment made of steel was raised directly into an overhead power line.  The operator was standing on the ground operating the controls when the contact occurred which created the path to ground through him.  He was fatally injured.

Ontario – The dump box of a truck was raised into the distribution line.  The employee reached over to operate the dump box lever and was electrocuted.

2005

British Columbia – Two workers painting the trim on an apartment building lost control of their aluminum ladder and it fell against the power line.  One of the workers was electrocuted.

Nova Scotia – While lowering a sign onto the flatbed of a boom truck, the boom contacted a power line.  The signaler on the ground was electrocuted.  At this point a friend went to provide assistance and was also fatally injured.

2004

Alberta - A member of the public sailing on a reservoir contacted an overhead line with the mast of the sailboat.  Victim was fatally injured.

British Columbia – A snorkel boom operator swung the snorkel-boom into a power line.  A concrete truck operator was standing with one foot on the snorkel boom truck and the other foot on the cement truck when the boom truck became energized.  The concrete truck operator completed the electrical circuit between the two trucks and was electrocuted.

2000

Ontario - An 18 year old was electrocuted while lowering an aluminium extension ladder into a well. While manoeuvring the 8.3 metre extended ladder the top contacted an adjacent overhead power line.

Alberta - A truck driver was electrocuted after driving forward with the box of the truck in the upright position after dumping a load. The box contacted an overhead power line. The driver received the fatal shock when he jumped from his truck after the tires caught fire.

British Columbia - A 15-year-old was removing an obstruction from a 10 metre long irrigation pipe. As he lifted the pipe it touched an overhead power line and he was electrocuted.

1999

Ontario - A 19-year-old labourer was moving a ladder to another work location with the ladder fully extended. It contacted an overhead power line and he was electrocuted.

Ontario - Two eavestroughers were moving an aluminium ladder in close proximity to overhead lines. They lost control of the ladder and it fell onto the power line. One was killed instantly, and the other received serious injuries.

Ontario - Two men had been trimming trees while standing on an aluminium ladder in the bucket of a backhoe. They inadvertently made contact with an overhead power line.

Alberta - A 19-year-old male was erecting the center pole of a carnival tent, when the pole came in contact with an overhead power line. He was electrocuted.

British Columbia - The operator of a television satellite van was electrocuted while setting up equipment which came into contact with an overhead line.

1998

Ontario - The victim, a 36-year-old male, was flying a kite and was electrocuted when the kite struck a power line.

Alberta - A 16-year-old was attempting to clear an obstruction out of an irrigation pipe. He lifted the pipe into an overhead power line and was electrocuted.

Alberta - Three workers were relocating a 10-meter high scaffold at a construction site. While moving the scaffold it contacted an overhead power line. Two workers died from their injuries and the third received third degree burns to his hands, arms and legs.

New Brunswick - A 22-year-old roofer was lowering an aluminium ladder to the ground when it contacted an overhead 7.2 kV power line. He was electrocuted.

Quebec - The victim was cutting a branch. The branch fell on a power line and the victim was electrocuted.

1997

Alberta - Two men and a child were installing a metal tower and TV antenna next to a building, beneath an 8 kV line. Both men were electrocuted and the child received electrical burns.

Alberta - A carpenter and two other employees were manually pushing a scaffold unit around the house when they contacted a 14.4 kV power line. The carpenter was electrocuted.

Saskatchewan - A farmer was attempting to erect a CB antenna in his yard. While uprighting the antenna it came in contact with the overhead 14.4 kV line.

Quebec - The victim was on an aluminium ladder and was cutting a branch with a handsaw. The handsaw fell on the power line. The victim was electrocuted while trying to hold back the branch.



Year Fatality
1997

Ontario - The victim was working on his dock with a power drill when he fell into the water and was electrocuted.

Ontario - The victim, a 25-year-old male, was electrocuted while draining a friend's swimming pool. As he tried to start an electrical pump, he reached for a home-made extension cord while he was standing on water saturated ground.



Year Fatality
2006 Ontario – A surveyor made contact with an energized power line after felled tree caused the line to come to the ground.
2000

Ontario - Two electrical fatalities following a single car accident. The driver lost control of the car on a dirt road and hit a distribution pole causing the pole to break. Four occupants escaped from the car, however two contacted a downed wire and were electrocuted.

1998

Ontario - A vehicle left the road, struck and broke a utility pole. The pole fell and when it came to rest a power line was approximately 2 feet above ground level. The driver left the vehicle and as he walked away his knee contacted the wire and he was electrocuted.


 
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