ELECTROCUTED

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 8, 31 July 1930, Page 5

ELECTROCUTED

DEATH OF FREDERICK B. BETTRSDGE.

CORONIAL INQUIRY HELD. At Stratford . to-day an request was held by Mr W. L. Kennedy, Coroner regarding th e death off Frederick Bruce Bettridge, a Taranaki Power Board employee, who was found electrocuted at the foot of an electric light pole on Croydon Road on Monday last. Mr J. L. Weir watched proceedings on behalf of the Power Board, and Mr P, Thomson on behalf of relatives of deceased. LEFT AT WORK. Donald A. Bunion, linesman, employed by the Taranaki Electric Power Board, gave evidence that deceased was also employed by the Board as a linesman. Witness and deceased were working together on Croydon Road on Monday last. Witness was the last person to speak to deceased, a little after noon. The work, of erecting a pole had just been_ completed, in the course or running a service into a farmhouse. Witness asked Bettridge if h e was going down to dinner in the lorry, and he replied that he had left his lunch on the other lorry, which had gone away for a couple of poles, and that he would walk down later. The

rest of th e party went in the lorry to a farmhouse for dinner. Witness was half-way through his lunch, and, as Bettridge had mot come down he decided to go to the top of the hill to give him a call. Re-

ceiving no answer, witness went over to the transformer structure, and saw Bettridge lying at the bottom of the pole on which he had been working. Bettridge was lying on his face. Witness turned him over and found that he was dead. Deceased had burns on his left temple and th e righ hand and a cut over one of his eyes. It would appear that when he was left deceased must have gone back to the structure to make off the low-tension wires. It was likely that in the course of his work deceased’s head must have touched the bottom clip of the specific fuse. Deceased appeared to be in his usual health and spirits. USED TO TILE WORK. To the Coroner; Deceased had been used to the work on which he was then engaged. Witness could not say how long Bettridge had been engaged on such work. To Mr Thomson; The specific fuse would he about twenty feet from the ground. Deceased would be working on the platform of the transformer. The fuse would be sft Gin or so above the platform. It was connected with tb e high-pressure wire. There were no special measures of protection in reference to such fuses. The workmen knew th danger and guarded against Tc. It was not always necessary to cut off the current when service was being done. To Mr Weir: The structure where deceased was killed was of the same pattern as the Board usually used. It was neither more nor less dangerous than any other transformer structure. What deceased was doing was riart of his regular occupation. Witness knew Bettridge was a good workman and knew his Job. Deceased had previously been fiTting shackles on the transformer, and this work would bring him into close proximity to the specific fuse.

Deceased knew how to pull a fuse and deaden, the transformer, aad if he thought he was in any danger he. could have deadened the transformer. On such work, however, it was not usual to pull the fuses—witness would not have pulled it in the circumstances. pn witness’ opinion deceased just forgot where he ivas and put his hand up without thinking. To Mr Thomson; Rubber gloves were issued to workmen, hut they were not required for the work in hand. DEATH INSTANTANEOUS, Dr. A\\ P. P. Gordon gave evidencor that at 1.30 p.m. on Monday h© was rung up by dir JaTrdine, who asked him to go to the Cross Roads. Proceeding to the spot, he found. Beth-' ridge dead, "with a burn on the temple and burns on all th© fingers off one hand. There was a deep contused wound over the left eyek" ;w, which would probably he caused by the fall. Death was due to heart failure as a. result of the passage of a hightension current through the body.

To the Coroner: Judging from the severity of the burns, witness presumed death would; be instantaneous, and therefore nothing could have been done, by deceased’s mates iff they had been present and acquainted with stops required in, cases of electric shock. QUITE A SIMPLE JOB. Leonard H. Jardine, lines foreman’ of tho Power Board, said lines were being run to the farms of Messrs Pitb. and Barlevman. The work was of quite a simple nature, and what Bettridge was doing was part of the daily work of a linesman. The service wire was run through a futile and +b«n attached to the main wire. When this was done there remained a. short lemrth off wire, called" the “tail.” and it aimeared that deceased! had olasned this when he was killed'. To the Coroner : From time to time employees were warned of the dan-, gers of their work. It was insisted: tliat rubber gloves he worn when fuses were handled, anoT instruments were provided for fuse extractions, but for the work Bettridge was doing gloves were not required. In the case, of 400 volt wires which were alive workmen sometimes wore gloves. To Mr Thomson: All linesmen received a booklet dealing with the dangers of their work. They were also verbally instructed by various officers. The transformer structure in question was of the type used, by the Power Board since 1925, which was an improvement on the typo in use in New Zealand generally. TO SECURE SAFETY. To Mr Weir : Cloves had been issued; to all workmen and the Board had not neglected any lifesaving device. Witness knew of nothing further tho Board could up m tire matter. The only other thing" which might bo done was the pulling of tire fuses. Every workman had the right to pull all tire fuses on a job. Tiro workmen could insist on the fuses being pulled before lie proceededl with his work. To Mr Thomson: If fuses wer» pulled tho transformer was deadcr.ed, and no low-tension current would issue from itq but the transmission of high-tension current was not interrupted. Bettridge took up work with tho Board as a linesman in December last since when he had been constantly employed on the usual work of a linesman. Bettridge was a, good workman and very conscientious.

Summing up, the Coroner said that everything pointed to death, having been accidental. It was a pity that there had been nobody about at the time to say how the fatality happened. The doctor’s evidence was clear, however, that the electric current and not tlie fall had caused death. The verdict would be in accordance with medical evidence.

IVir Kennedy said he desired to record his sympathy with relatives of deceased. Deceased seemed to be a promising young man and it was hard that he should he cut off in such a manner. iHs relatives could take consolation from the fact that' his ('With would’ he instantaneous and prac?*V-ally painless.

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