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Joined: May 2001
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How many of us have seen these types accidents that did NOT result in the death of a child? Fence installers never want to call anyone when they see a cable they've hit.

BALTIMORE (AP) - A "perfect storm scenario" led to the electrocution death Friday of a 14-year-old girl who was playing softball at a Baltimore park, an official said Wednesday.
Deanna Green of Randallstown was electrocuted after she touched two fences during a church league softball game in Druid Hill Park.

"We've determined how this happened," city parks Director Connie A. Brown said Wednesday. The exposed tip of a metal fence post came in contact with an underground electrical cable, and the girl touched a second metal fence, completing a deadly circuit, Brown said, adding that other park visitors might have also touched the same electrified fence and not been hurt.
Green was killed because she touched both fences at the same time, allowing a large amount of electrical current to flow through her body.
He said the electrified fence was constructed at least 20 years ago to protect players from foul balls. The fence was put up by a contractor who did not encase at least one of the poles anchoring it to the ground in concrete, Brown said.
Over the years, the tip of the exposed pole came in contact with the underground cable and the fence became electrified when insulation covering the cable wore away, Brown said.
"At that point, the pole became electrified," he said.
The name of the contractor who performed the work is not known, Brown said, explaining that the job was not performed by city employees.
Officials may inspect all metal fences at city parks to see if there are electrical cables or wires underneath them, Brown said. The field where the incident occurred will remain closed.
"I don't know whose fault it is," Anthony Green said. "All I know is that my daughter is not here because of a fence that had an electric current running through it, which by no means, should not have happened."
Green, a student at the Carver School of Arts and Technology, hoped to pursue a career as a singer and had taken singing lessons since she was six years old, her parents told The (Baltimore) Sun.
Her mother, Nancy Green, was at the game Friday to watch Deanna play.
When she was electrocuted, Nancy Green jumped to help, catching Deanna in her arms before she hit the ground. An ambulance took the teenager to Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Anthony Green said, "We're at peace. ... She came into this world in her mother's arms and left that way. What better way to close the chapter."
Information from: The (Baltimore) Sun

Arc Flash PPE Clothing, LOTO & Insulated Tools
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A good reminder to buff up your CPR skills.
There is an excellent chance she could have been saved if they had started CPR immediately. Seconds count and minutes become deadly.


Greg Fretwell
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BTW you might not be able to blame the fence installer. Since there was no concrete it is possible this was just a driven post and they didn't know they hit a cable. I cut a cable in my yard installing a fence a couple weeks ago and didn't know it until I noticed the lights were out in the shed. I never saw or heard a thing to indicate I hit anything. I am not even sure which post hole it was and I abandoned the whole thing in place.

[This message has been edited by gfretwell (edited 05-11-2006).]


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Dec 2005
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I recently spent a rainy Saturday tracking down a fault to earth on a shopping centre car park lighting circuit. I found that someone had damaged the underground cable when they installed a new speed sign and the circuit would trip whenever it rained.

Joined: Jul 2002
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Thanks for this thread George!. [Linked Image]
Quote
The name of the contractor who performed the work is not known
Sure cover your back-side lady.
This is not the first time an incident like this has happened as Briselec also suggests.
It could be prevented if idiots used thier brains, it costs nothing to get a cable location service these days, compared to the cost of a life.
Wake up Egg-heads!. [Linked Image]
I remember putting my Duspols on two parts of a fence when I first started Faults work and got 400V.
Luckily no-one touched it.
As Greg mentioned above, keep your CPR training up to date.
It WILL pay dividends, if only a psychological one. [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 05-15-2006).]

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I doubt that cable would be on anybody's map. Much of this stuff on government property gets done by the maintenance staff and nobody writes anything down. That was most of what my job was when I worked for the state. They were finally trying to get some accountability in state projects with the permit/inspection process. That started in 1996. "Old work" was simply a mystery that got explored while working on the new work. They found things all the time that were a total surprise.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Jul 2002
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Just as a note,
To get 400V on a fence you have to have the situation that the fence builder pierced a 3-phase cable in two different spots.
I've never seen the likes since.
This was direct burial, for some strange reason, he never hit the phase wires and the Neutral screening at the same time.
Quote
Fence installers never want to call anyone when they see a cable they've hit.
Couple that with builders, landscape gardeners and homeowners that just never get any cable location work done, before tearing into a job.


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