ACCIDENTALLY ELECTROCUTED.

Otago Witness, Issue 3510, 21 June 1921, Page 9

ACCIDENTALLY ELECTROCUTED.

DANGER OF TAMPERING- WITH ELECTRICITY. Mr J. R. B.irtholomcw, AM. (coroner), conducted a further inquiry on tho 16th into the death of _ Arnold Edward Thornicroft, aged 22, of Raven.--bourne, who was electrocuted while working on a motor car in Ihornicroft Bros.’s garage on June y. Senior Sergeant Lewin appeared on behalf of tho police, and Mr Ramsay for the City Corporation. Ebenezer Bannatyne M'Donald. a motor mechanic and partner of the firm, stated that he was standing in the olficc talk- ' ing to Mr George Thornicroft when he neard the deceased, who was working on a car, cry out for assistance. Witness rushed to the scene, but could not see the deceased, who was working under a canopy winch covered the car. Deceased replied that he was being electrocuted. Witness rushed to the switch and turned off the current and then assisted in lifting deceased, who appeared to be breathing and | was moaning occasionally. The deceased’s ! brother got a car, in which the dying man I was conveyed to tho Hospital. To Senior Sergeant Lewin; Witness had used the same lamp during the dav. and did not no tice anything wrong with it. j After the accident he examined the lamp and found that one of the wires was touching the holder which was made of brass. Die brass socket which was Cited into the wooden socket with plaster of Paris had been pulled out. lo Mr Ramsay: Tho “portable” connection had been in use some two or three weeks, and was in good condition. George Christian Thornicroft deposed that he had received the extern-ion from a friend. The original holder had been tak en off, and the wire used to convey current to drive a motor at the recent show. On the Monday prior to tho accident witness replaced the holder, and coupled up the end of the flux with tho original socket. He held it while he showed his brother the light, and as he felt no shock he presumed it was all right. After the accident the wire was in contact with the holder. The glass of the lamp globe was broken .and the wires exposed. Arthur Poi-rod Mackie, engineer in charge of the City C'oporation test room, said that after the accident he took measurements from the shell of the holder to the ground and recorded a voltage of 203 to 210. The usual voltage was 230. Witness, in describing tho condition of the “portable.” stated that if the deceased gripped the holder when tho current was on he would receive a shock, the extent of which would depend on the conditions. Fatalities had been recorded by persons coming into contact, with oven lower voltages than in this case. To Mr Ramsay: If the connection had been made according to the regulations the holder would have been enclosed in a wooden handle with the lamp covered by a metallic guard. The connection should not have been made without the permission of the corporation, and then only by a qualified man. Matthew C. Henderson, city electrical engineer, in evidence, said that the general impression was that almost anybody could tamper with an installation without much 1 risk, and many did so on the score of j economy or through ignorance of the | dangers. The unfortunate fatality under | review showed, however, that even ap- j parently simple matters should bo en- j trusted to a skilled man. This accident i had, he felt sure, been caused bv the I non-appreciation of the danger of interfering in work that was not understood by ! tho person doing it. The work appeared to be quite simple, but as it turned out ; it cost a man his life. Mr Henderson ■ added further that, since this accident, it j had been found that similar conditions oh- i tained in almost all garages. Apparently ! the danger was not realised. In reply to the coroner, Mr Henderson j. said that' even the wires connecting an electric iron with -he cun-cut should, if , found to be faulty, be attended to by someone who understood the innfter. That j accidents in this connection had not or- | curved might be explained by the fact that ' a wooden floor, upon which the person I using an electric iron usually stood, was : a non-conductor. The by-laws were drawn I up to protect the public generally, and should be strictly observed. The Coroner said that the evidence made j it clear how the unfortunate fatality had j occurred. Deceased had been electrocuted by coming into contact with an electric current through a faulty connection. The accident would call attention to the corporation by-laws dealing with electrical matters and to the necessity of strict com- 1 plianco with these bv-iaws, which made it I clear that what might appear to ho a simple matter might cause a very dangerous accident, and that no one should make any addition or alteration to their appliances without first notifying the proper I an thorities. His formal verdict would he that death was caused by shock d-.ip to an electric current accidentally received.