Selected Electrical Incidents and Occurrences in Canada
Second Quarter – April to June, 2007
Date & Program Location Accident Description
MIS ID #
Fatalities:
April 15th Industrial Beaverton Worker on aluminum ladder, trying to install a sign on a
billboard. Worker’s head contacted 4800 volt conductor,
located about 20 inches above the billboard.
May 9th Construction Burlington Backhoe was dragging a metal dumpster along gravelled
ground. A few days earlier a 600 V trailing cable had been
buried in this area, but only a few inches in depth, with no
mechanical protection over the cable. Cable was energized,
bottom skids on dumpster dug into ground and sliced into
the cable, making contact with one of the power conductors.
Worker went to unhook dumpster from backhoe, became part
of the phase to ground fault.
Critical Injuries:
April 2nd Industrial Cobourg Worker doing work on electrical panel, panel blew up.
Worker received burns to face and right hand, taken to
hospital. Details of work being done not given.
May 10th Construction Parry Sound Worker was doing work inside an electrical room, received
burns to right forearm. No details given of work being done
at the time.
May 15th Industrial Dundalk Worker was disconnecting a power supply, power not shut off.
Worker received a 220 volt shock, walked around for about 10
minutes then passed out. Worker taken to hospital then
released.
May 30th Construction Brantford A millwright and a millwright apprentice received burns from
an arc flash. Millwright was showing the apprentice how to
use a multimeter to check for voltage at a fused disconnect
switch. Arc happened inside meter, propagated to line side
of switch. A third worker received burns from the arc when he
entered the electrical room to try to shut off the power at the
main switch. The investigation showed that the meter was set
for voltage measurement at the time. Fused test leads were not
being used.
June 18th Construction Stittsville Worker was using a front-end loader to move some wires.
While exiting the loader, he contacted one of the bare
conductors. Worker received 600V shock, taken to hospital.
June 21st Construction Amaranth Boom truck being used to replace hydro pole. Worker
received a shock, went to hospital. No details given as to
whether the worker was the operator or worker on ground.
June 25th Industrial Burlington Worker using high-voltage probe to do dielectric testing of
electrical equipment. Made contact with energized tip of
probe, lost consciousness.
Non-Critical Injuries:
April 1st Construction Mississauga Worker replacing panels, hand brushed against a 347 volt
breaker. Worker received a shock, taken to hospital with
injury to finger.
April 15th Construction Tiverton Worker using tool to remove bolts from a current transformer,
received a shock when tool made contact. Worker taken to
hospital then released.
April 18th Mining Timmins Worker made electrical contact, was shaken up by incident.
No details given of actual work being done at the time.
April 20th Mining North Dumfries Worker received an electrical shock while re-fuelling a
Township vehicle. Poor electrical ground bed for the system allowed
a phase-to-ground fault to go through metal braid of hose to
nozzle in worker’s hand to ground through worker’s body.
April 22nd Industrial La Salle Worker was doing forestry work, tree he was working on made
contact with 16 kV power line. Worker received shocks from
energized tree.
April 26th Industrial Orillia Worker received an electrical shock while operating a
cut-off machine.
April 27th Industrial Toronto Worker using ladder to climb down into vault. Ladder rubbed
against one of the cables in the vault, explosion happened.
Worker was injured to head and both legs.
April 28th Construction Mississauga Electrician received a shock while installing lighting.
Voltage of lighting circuit not given.
May 1st Mining Norman Worker received an electrical burn to his right wrist while
Township doing a survey visit. Worker taken to hospital and released.
No details given of actual work being done at the time.
May 7th Construction Hamilton Utility worker received a burn from a flash, taken to hospital.
Details of work being done or extent of injuries not given.
May 8th Construction Orillia Worker was on a 3 ft ladder, elbow made contact with a
damaged light fixture. Shock caused worker to fall from
ladder, received scrapes to nose and hands. Worker taken to
hospital then released.
May 15th Industrial Tiverton Breaker was racked out, no auxiliary power supply to breaker.
Instructor was pointing out different parts of breaker to
students, received a small shock from capacitor in control
circuit.
May 16th Industrial Toronto Worker doing work in a breaker panel, made contact with a
live conductor. Injuries to both hands.
May 17th Industrial Cambridge Worker was removing a light fixture, touched an energized
wire. Received an electrical shock to both arms.
May 26th Construction Grimsby Worker using metal ladder to install vinyl siding and
eavestrough at residence. Ladder contacted overhead line,
worker to hospital with 2nd degree burns to hands and feet.
May 30th Industrial North Bay Worker plugging in a computer, felt a shock. Taken to
hospital for observation then released.
June 4th Construction Ottawa Electrician doing wiring in parking lot, received electrical
shock to finger. Taken to hospital.
June 7th Construction Saugeen Shores Worker operating a HI-HOE, hit overhead power lines.
Township A second worker was standing on the ground, received a
shock. Voltage of overhead lines not given.
June 12 th Construction Toronto Steel anchor in ceiling was energized. Worker touched
anchor, received 347 V shock. Worker taken to hospital for
observation.
June 14 th Construction Toronto Worker on ladder, cut into wires. Power was supposed to be
off, it wasn’t. Worker startled by sparks from cut wires, fell
off ladder, taken to hospital. VERIFY – part of LOCKOUT
procedures.
June 20th Industrial Toronto Worker using aluminum ladder, holding a flexible cord for
floodlight. Received a shock, went to hospital.
June 25th Industrial Guelph Worker doing re-roofing at a residence, made electrical
contact. Worker treated and released from hospital.
June 27 th Construction Hamilton Workers using extension cords outside, mud and water in area.
One worker received a shock and fell, received lacerations to
face and elbow from fall.
Powerline Contacts – No Injuries:
April 2nd Construction Gravenhurst Boom struck primary cable, no details given of type of
equipment involved.
April 2nd Construction Stittsville Buried hydro line dug up, no other details of event given.
April 2nd Construction Pickering Boom of backhoe hit neutral of overhead line.
April 9th Construction London Excavator contacted powerline. Event description did not say
if line was buried or overhead.
April 10th Construction Courtright Worker digging for foundation, used chipping gun to dig into
concrete. Concrete was part of a duct bank, chipper hit
480 volt cable.
April 11th Construction Ingersoll Workers were using a torpedo to do an underground bore.
Torpedo hit 16 kV cable, bad locates.
April 11th Construction Kanata Contractor digging, no locates. Hit secondary cables.
April 17th Construction Toronto Dump truck hit service power lines.
April 17th Construction Wellesley West Dump truck hit 4800 volt conductor.
April 18th Construction Scarborough Worker was lowering scissor lift, hit service cables for
commercial establishment.
April 19th Construction Ottawa Boom of concrete pump truck broke off a tree branch. Branch
landed on hydro wires, wires wound up landing on boom of
pump.
April 20th Construction Welland Excavator hit 27 kV overhead power line.
April 20th Construction Bowmanville Contractor augering a hole, hit buried 16 kV power line.
April 21st Construction Woodstock Truck turning around, boom caught the neutral of a power line.
Pole was cracked as a result.
April 21st Industrial St Catharines Contact made with overhead 13 kV powerline.
No details given of equipment involved.
April 23rd Construction Ancaster Crew severed a buried 27 kV cable. No locates.
April 23rd Construction Oakville Hi-Hoe dug up a buried 16 kV cable.
April 23rd Construction Hamilton Buried cable dug up. No details given of cable voltage or
equipment involved in the event.
April 25th Construction Stoney Creek Contact made with buried 240 V cable. Details of equipment
involved not given.
April 26th Construction Sarnia Crane boom was raised while the crane was travelling.
Power line hit.
April 26th Construction Courtright Backhoe dug up a buried 480 volt cable.
April 30th Construction Markham Excavator hit a buried 27.6 kV buried cable.
May 1st Construction Sudbury Crane contacted 7200 volt overhead line.
May 2nd Construction North York Tower crane contacted 27 kV overhead line.
May 4th Construction Thunder Bay Crew dug up buried cable service to a residence.
May 6th Industrial Toronto Truck clearing catch basins, boom contacted overhead lines.
May 7th Construction Thunder Bay Worker was making a cut in an energized 120 volt cable.
Tool bridged to ground, arc happened. No reported injuries.
May 8th Construction Mattawa Excavator hit neutral of overhead line.
May 9th Construction Fraserville Backhoe dug up buried cable. Voltage of cable not given.
May 10th Construction Brampton Dump truck hit 27 kV power line.
May 11th Construction Thunder Bay Shovel contacted overhead lines feeding a residence.
May 11th Construction Welland Crew pulled out an abandoned pole, metal bracket on pole
contacted a conductor.
May 15th Construction Thunder Bay Crew digging, severed buried cable to residence.
May 22nd Construction Waterdown Worker hit 16 kV overhead powerline, no details given of
equipment in use at the time.
May 22nd Construction Tilbury Boring machine contacted 240 volt service line.
May 23rd Construction Hamilton Contact made with 240 volt overhead line, no other details
given of event.
May 23rd Construction Ajax Dump truck caught TV cable, cable contacted overhead line.
May 24th Construction Hamilton Event description stated that contact was made with 240 volt
cable, no other details of event given.
May 24th Industrial Simcoe Crew felling a tree, dropped it onto primary power line.
May 24th Construction Hamilton Boring machine hit buried 13.8 kV cable. Locates done
by a private firm.
May 28th Construction Brampton Crew contacted primary cable, no other details of event given.
May 29th Construction Milton Bulldozer hit guy wire of hydro pole. Knocked off power to
about 1/3 of town.
May 29th Construction Ancaster Event description mentioned 27 kV buried cable, no other
details of event given.
May 30th Construction Port Hope Heavy equipment dropped power line across Highway 401.
May 30th Construction Gananoque Roofer moved power lines to rest on roof. Lines sparked,
roof caught fire.
May 30th Construction St Catharines Crew digging a trench, contacted 240 volt secondary cable.
May 31st Industrial Whitby Re-feeding 2400 volt cables before relocating pole.
Conductors made contact with grounded surface.
June 1st Construction Guelph Dump truck contacted power lines, voltage of lines not given.
June 1st Construction Toronto Forklift contacted overhead lines, lines taken down.
June 4th Mining Sudbury Scoop dumping with bucket raised, operator’s foot slipped
off brake. Scoop rolled backwards and contacted trolley line.
June 4th Construction Ottawa Worker cutting around manhole, cut into 13 kV cable.
June 7th Construction Ottawa Workers chipping concrete, hit a buried cable. Locates had
been done.
June 8th Industrial Oshawa Worker cutting trees, tree fell on 40 kV line.
June 8th Construction Thunder Bay Road construction, overhead line damaged. No other details
of event given.
June 11 th Construction Ottawa Digging, contacted buried primary line. No other details of
event given.
June 12 th Mining North Dumfries Dump truck parked parallel to 27 kV overhead line, raised
box. Box contacted line.
June 12 th Construction Kingston Worker cut into 5 kV electrical cable, no injuries. No details
given of tools in use at the time.
June 13 th Construction Ancaster Contact made with 120 volt cable, no other details of event
given.
June 15 th Construction Hamilton Dump truck with raised box hit hydro line.
June 15 th Construction Bowmanville Workers digging post holes, made contact with buried hydro
line. Locates had been done, worker was digging at base of
hydro meter.
June 16 th Construction Peterborough Hi-Hoe pulled down a primary hydro line.
June 18th Construction Stratford Drilling rig contacted buried cable. Locates had been done,
but did not show the cable.
June 19 th Construction Hamilton 240 volt buried cable contacted, no details given of equipment
in use at the time.
June 19 th Construction Woolwich Event classified as powerline contact, no details given of
Township event.
June 19 th Construction Oshawa Backhoe contacted 13.8 kV power line while digging an
excavation. Event description did not specify buried or
overhead power line.
June 21st Construction Hamilton Contact made with 600 volt buried cable, no other details of
event given.
June 21st Construction Markham Mobile crane being moved to site. Stored jib section came
loose and sheared off two hydro poles.
June 21st Construction Cayuga Wind changed direction, crane boom swung into power lines.
Voltage of lines not given.
June 22nd Construction Hamilton Contact made with overhead 240 volt line. No other details
of event given.
June 23rd Construction Thunder Bay Test holes being dug in parking lot, backhoe made contact
with 25 kV line. Event did not specify if line was buried or
overhead.
June 25 th Construction East Tecumseh Revenge of the Cables. Box still raised while dump truck in
motion. Box got caught up on a cable TV and a fibre-optic
line, truck rolled over on its side, hit another vehicle.
June 26 th Construction Kingston Contractor lifting a fence section, contacted secondary line.
Broke service to residence.
June 26 th Construction Markham Dump truck hit cable TV line, pulled down the primary hydro
line as well.
June 28 th Construction Hamilton Workers made contact with 4 kV buried cable. No other
details of event given.
Electrical Equipment – No Injuries:
May 23rd Mining Sudbury Worker washing floor in lunchroom with a water hose.
While spraying water around, noticed flames coming from
wiring of electrical heater.
DATA SUMMARY – Second Quarter:
Fatals: Criticals: Non-criticals: Powerline Electrical
Contacts: Equipment:
2007 2 7 23 74 1
2006 3 5 30 53 1
2005 4 9 17 60 0
2004 3 4 16 48 0
2003 3 7 25 39 0
2002 1 9 17 28 1
2001 1 13 12 32 2
2000 2 5 22 34 1
1999 2 9 22 32 0
1998 2 4 17 30 0
And Finally…..
April 18th Industrial St. Catharines A student in sex-ed class was watching a video, lost
consciousness for about 15-20 seconds. Ambulance
called, student received minor treatment at scene.
No details given of what was on the video at the time, did
get a reaction though.
Information taken from Ontario Ministry of Labour MIS database
Report prepared: December 27, 2007
Assembled by: Michael Reiser, P.Eng.,
Engineer, PSS – Kitchener District
E-Mail: mike.reiser@ontario.ca
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