One Firefighter Electrocuted and One Seriously Injured When An Aluminum Extension Ladder Contacts a 7,600 Volt Overhead Power Line

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  New Jersey Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Project (NJ FACE) ; New Jersey. Department of Health and Senior Services. Occupational Health Service
• Description:
  On March 20, 1993, a 47-year-old male firefighter was electrocuted, and a second firefighter was seriously injured while positioning a 35-foot aluminum extension ladder at a fire scene. The incident occurred outside a three-story building that had an active working fire on the third floor. The victim, who was off duty and in the area when the fire was discovered, was placed on duty by the Chief in charge of the fire scene and was ordered to assist in raising a ladder to the third-floor window of the structure. As the victim (who was not wearing firefighter's turn-out gear) and two other firefighters positioned the ladder near the building, two of them apparently slipped on ice and snow on the sidewalk and lost control of the ladder. The ladder fell back and contacted a 7,600-volt overhead power line, electrocuting the victim and critically injuring a second firefighter. The third firefighter received a minor electric shock but was not injured. NJDOH FACE investigators concluded that, in order to prevent similar incidents in the future, employers should follow these safety guidelines: 1. Fire Departments should ensure that all firefighters are trained in the recognition and avoidance of electrical hazards. 2. Fire Departments should have a written standard operating procedure for operating near electrical hazards. 3. Fire Departments should consider equipping each ladder truck with a non-conductive fiberglass ladder. 4. Fire Departments should require an observer to watch the placement of ladders near power lines.
• Content Notes:
  Formerly 93NJ062
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Electric Injuries
  • Electricity
  • Emergency Responders
  • Firefighters
  • Fires
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-potential
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Safety-education
  • Safety-equipment
  • Safety-practices
  • Safety-measures
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Electrocution ; Prevention through Design (PtD)
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE93NJ026
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026554
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2013-108668
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 93NJ026, 1993 Jun ; :1-5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Performing Organization:
  New Jersey Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2005/08/31
• Resource Number:
  FACE-93NJ026
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/170096/cdc_170096_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 89.13 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:10f1afc5250efe5782c60c2e0bd2d9bff1199884defb38244bdf531bcebfb429282992536e452f607eaece225890e813deee83ceec2bc383289dd901f4b72a7b