Electric Shock Drowing

I ran across this today and thought we can learn something from it
we should all be aware of the dangers around us and others


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/da...eens-death/ar-BBA3hg4?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=msnbcrd

Thanks for posting, Gary - I had never thought about drowning from a stray shock.

And then some go looking for it

Electric fishing rod

This is why GFCI is used for. To prevent unwanted leaking of current .

Agree with plutonium.
Isnt GFCI relays mandatory over there ?

But thanks for the tip about electric shock when swimming. Essentially one should swim in the direction where the "tingling" becomes less.

plutonium said:

This is why GFCI is used for. To prevent unwanted leaking of current .

Click to expand...

This was my first thought too. Tragic. Preventable.

JesperMP said:

Agree with plutonium.
Isnt GFCI relays mandatory over there ?

Click to expand...

GFCI is required on almost everything these days. Each code revision adds more and more. I think the common "joke" (not that this is a joke) is "Do you plan on using that recep? Then it requires GFCI". GFCI is more commonly accepted these days. A few places are still arguing over the growing Arc Fault protection requirements.

But, that doesn't mean every installation is done to code, installed by qualified persons, or inspected. Not to mention systems that could be decades old.

JesperMP said:

Essentially one should swim in the direction where the "tingling" becomes less.

Click to expand...

While I've never been shocked while in water, I wonder how much a slight tingle would feel when compared to a brisk sensation of early spring water temperatures? And how likely one would be able to react to and swim away from an unknown power source given a choice of 360 degrees.

Alabama, where this happened is currently using the 2014 National Electric Code. I don't know if the new 2017 code has anything to address dock side installations. Even so, most installations are "grandfathered" in to leave in place unless renovations are done.

My own pathetic state of Illinois, besides not even being able to pass a state budget for almost 2 years is still using the 2008 code without any type of plan to move forward.

Same thing happened a few years ago at a local marina. Two boys and their father were killed. 1st boy jumped in off the dock and was immediately in distress. 2nd boy jumped in to help, but was overcome. Then, the father jumped in...

They didn't know that an extension cord with a tool plugged in fell off the dock. Investigation concluded improper wiring by a non-licensed handyman.