BOY ELECTROCUTED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22142, 22 June 1935, Page 16

BOY ELECTROCUTED

iPLOCKHOIJSE BAY CASE QUESTIONS BY CORONER !■ | REGULATIONS FOR WIRING The technical causes of the fault Vhich led to the tragic death by electrocution of Ronald Leslie Rudd, aged five and a-half years, at the home of his parents at 37 Blockhouse, Bay Road, lAvondale, on June 3, were closely examined by Mr: W. R. McKean, S.M., coroner, at the 'continuation of the inquest yesterday. The child, who was the son of Mr. L. A. Rudd, was found dead on the grass at the rear of a galvanised iron ,shed in the backyard of his parents' home. Mr. Schramm watched proceedings" on behalf of the child's parents. " The cause of the fatality was the •Ineffectiveness of tho driven earth peg, • whi<?h failed to clear a short-circuit •which had occurred between a loose wire and the rfietal holder of a lamp in the shed,'-' said Eric Hutchison, inspector, employed by the Auckland Electric-Power Board. The current had passed along the holder to the conduit pipe, which had then made the whole ehed alive, ho said. The slow leakage of current by this means had gradually dried the ground around the earth peg, rendering it ineffective, and tho result was that when the child came into contract either with the shed or with an iron bedstead leaning against it a full current of probably 230 volts passed through his body to the ground. In reply to questions by Mr. McKean, witness said that if the wire in the holder had been bent around the pinch-screw there would have been less likelihood of its coming loose, but even in sudh cases the screw occasionally

came loos©. The leakage of current ithrough this contact had not (beep (Sufficiently great to blow the fuses, but :it had been sufficient to dry the ground jSround the earth peg, thus rendering ; ineffective the second safeguard. The general installation -was accord;icg to standard, •witness said. The con-duit-pipe had not been insulated from -the walls, as tjiat was not in accordjsmtfe with the practice set down. The [•principle was that by bonding the con-,duit-pipe afrd the walls, any fault that might occur would be safely earthed through the earth peg of the whole •building. After further questions, the coroner said he was surprised, as a layman, it was not desirable to insulate • the conduit pipe from the walls, but .apparently the . very., opposite was the [correct procedure. In this case the slow land unsuspected leakage of current had jßullified the earthing of the shed, and jthe unfortunate fatality had occurred. .He could only return a verdict that 'death , had occurred through the pas•i gage of an electrical current from a i fault in a lamp-holder through the : conduit pipe, tlae walls and the child's .body to the ground. The evidence be';fore him indicated clearly that except ,for the accidental fault in the holder the wiring was quite in order.