31.12.2008

A tale of two shocks

A man using a truck mounted aerial lift at the Thales explosives factory in Mulwala, New South Wales, Australia, received a serious electrical shock yesterday after he touched overhead power lines.

Swift action by his colleagues to bring him down and then administer CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) followed by the rapid arrival of an ambulance almost certainly saved the life of the 52 year old.
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A photo from the scene in Mulwala yesterday

The man was taken to Wangaratta Hospital where he was reported to be in critical by stable condition. A hospital spokesman said: “It appears to me that he received some prompt and quality CPR from his workmates, and there’s no doubt that prompt CPR leads to lives being saved.”

WorkCover NSW is investigating the incident

UPDATE
In spite of beging declared stable, the man died overnight.

Two weeks ago Marc Mallaro, 48, a line leader for the Solvay Electric Department, was killed in a similar accident while working on a 13,800 volt power line in Solvay New York.

Mallaro was a supervisor who normally worked on the ground but decided to pitch-in with the overhead work and went up in an aerial lift while three other crew members stayed below.

A few minutes later a loud bang was heard, Mallaro’s colleagues lowered the platform and also began CPR until emergency personnel arrived to no effect.

Vertikal Comment

While these two accidents seem similar, the levels of shock may well have been totally different. We also do not know how fast the men were brought down and in the New York case how fast the ambulance arrived.

Earlier this year the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council, in a reversal of policy, endorsed the effectiveness of chest compressions alone--without artificial respiration--for adult victims who collapse suddenly in cardiac arrest.

They say that while CPR is unlikely to restart the heart in such cases, its purpose is to maintain a flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and the heart, thereby delaying tissue death and extending the window of opportunity for a successful resuscitation without permanent brain damage.

More advanced life support, such as Defibrillation, is usually needed to restart the heart. Thus the combination of good CPR and the swift arrival of professional help or use of a defibrillator is a winning combination.

Perhaps this ought to be added to the IPAF training programme? At least for truck mounted or boom lifts which are most commonly involved with such incidents.