This article was posted 05/29/2008 and is most likely outdated.

Dog Killed by Stray Voltage from Pole
 

 

Topic - Stray Voltage
Subject - Dog Killed by Stray Voltage from Pole

May 29, 2008
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Dog killed by stray voltage from pole

 

Celia Sing was devastated by the tragic death of Sebastian (below). Image 1

Sebastian, a Siberian Husky, was just doing his business on a Queens light pole when a fatal jolt of electricity shot through him, leaving his terrified owner heartbroken.

"All I did was take him for a walk," said Celia Sing, 50. "I haven't slept since this whole thing happened. I'm a walking zombie. I close my eyes and I still see him shaking."

Sing took the 7-year-old pooch she rescued as a pup for a walk about 12:50 a.m. on Sunday near her Long Island City apartment, across the street from the animal shelter where she volunteers.

"He just dropped and started shaking uncontrollably," said Sing, a civilian employee of theNYPD for 14 years. "He died in front of me. Why did my boy die?"

Sebastian now sits in a freezer at the Humane Society as Sing wades through the red tape to get answers. Con Edison referred her to the Department of Transportation, but because of the holiday weekend, she has been unable to speak with anyone there.

Meanwhile, DOT employees replaced the light pole Monday.

"We're still trying to determine the cause of the stray voltage at the location," a DOT spokesmansaid. "Our engineers have made it safe. Safety is our top priority."

Her first concern was for other pet owners, butSing is now trying to raise the funds for an autopsy for her companion over the past 49 dog years. Image 2

"He was my baby," she said. "I don't have kids. He was my boy."

Last August, a Labrador retriever survived a shock from a wet Con Ed manhole in SoHo, which again drew attention to the problem of stray voltage throughout the city.

In 2004, Jodie Lane was killed by stray voltage while walking her dog in the East Village.

 Story written by Kerry Bruke and Ethan Rouen of the NY Local Daily News

 

 

 

 

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Comments
  • Maybe there needs to be a periodic inspection of all ground connections. I have noticed that many of the ground wire to ground pole connections in my home town are loose enough that there is almost no (and in some cases, none) connection between the ground pole and the ground wire. Everything works properly, unless there is a fault to earth ground, in which case the breaker which should trip doesn't, and the frame of an appliance could be electrically hot. Or the fault current could find somewhere else to go. I worked one fire case where I suspect the cause of the fire was a loose connection between the ground pole and the ground wire. The fault current went through some aluminum foil coated insulation to a gas pipe, causing some dust to ignite when the aluminum foil flashed. I walked across the street and found the same condition on the next house. When these conditions are noticed, should they be reported? If so, to whom? Also, I was visiting with the manager of a local restaurant and found the same condition existing. Since the manager was a friend of mine, I tightened the fixture. I haven't done a real survey to determine the extent of the problem. Has anyone?

    This is a hard sell. How are you going to convince people that this check and adjustment needs to be done. Maybe the building inspectors should be required to do these inspections, and require repairs be made when necessary.

    Maybe the utilities need to do the same thing. In the case of the dog that was electrocuted, I really suspect deferred preventitive maintenance was the problem. Since systems will work with a broken or loose ground, there is no need to fix the problem, because there are no obvious effects. That is, until someone or some animal gets hurt.

    Maybe the next issue of the NEC could address this issue.

    Bob Scoff, PE

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