LIVE WIRE DANGER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 113, 22 January 1940, Page 3

LIVE WIRE DANGER

WARNING TO HOUSEHOLDERS

INSULATION IMPERATIVE In view of Sunday's electrocution fatality in Rotorua some practical hints upon the proper measures to pursue in such an emergency may be of use. In the lirst place persons encountering broken wires arc advised, as strongly as possible, not to touch them with their bare hands. Insulation on. the wires is very little protection if the person handling the wires is not himself insulated against completing the circuit through the earth. This can be done simply by standing upon a piece of dry wood or any other dry sub* stance—even a newspaper will serve the purpose. If lines are to be handled in an .emergency they should be handled with a piece of dry wood, dry cloth —even a hat or a coat will do. Ihey will enable the wires to be dragged away from anyone with whom they have made contact. It should be remembered that anyone who grasps a live wire and makes contact cannot let go of their own volition and that considerable force must be exerted to prise them loose. Water is the great enemy of the electrician or of persons handling electric wires and if conditions are wet or the materials used for handling the wires are wet, the risk is so much thci greater. The great point to remember is to insulate the body against completing contact with the earth and so enabling the current to run through the victim. A dangerous practice to-day is that of cleaning cars with vacuum cleaners connected through a bathroom window. Taps and other bathroom fittings are connected to earth and in the event of the cleaner becoming alive through any defect, the person using it might receive a severe shock by bringing it in contact accidentally with an earthed fitting. The danger of receiving a shock is much greater outside than inside where floorings constitute an insulation. It is thus possible to handle some live electric apparatus inside without being aware that it is dangerous but the moment contact is made with the earth, the circuit will be completed and irreparable damage possibly done.