Both
victims came in contact with the wires of a Siemen twelve-light
alternating-current generator. The difference of potential between the
place of the accident and the ground was 250 volts. The current which
would pass that way caused the deaths, and burns upon the hands, cheek
and ear of the victims.
September, 1884, Henry Pink, an attendant at the Health exhibition in
London, was killed on touching a Hochhausen dynamo of 1,000-volt
capacity. At that time all electricians agreed that no currents over 600
volts should be allowed.
November, 1884, an engine-driver, William Moore, was instantly killed on
touching the wire of an arc-light plant, at Messrs. Bolcknow, Vaughan &
Co.'s, works, at Middleborough, England. The fatality was admitted to be
due to the high-voltage current and bad insulation.
January, 1887, Richard Grove noted that his employer's store, in Regent
Street, London, was set on fire by electric-light wires. He rushed up on
the roof of the building to cut the wires. He received a shock and fell
off the roof, dead. Secondary currents of Goulard & Gibb's converters
(Westinghouse system) were held responsible for the fatality by
electricians.
December, 1887, James Williams was killed by an electric-light shock at
the Pontyminister tin-plate works at Bisca, in Wales.
June, 1888, in Terri, Italy, a tinner was killed on the roof of a
building on touching an alternating-current circuit.
Pages:
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85