Syracuse Police:12-year-old girl dies after being electrocuted

[danhr]

This happened last night in my hometown.

Syracuse Police:12-year-old girl dies after being electrocuted - NewsChannel 9 WSYR

Details are still being investigated but one would have to assume that a properly used GFCI could have prevented this horrific situation.....

 

[RonHebbard]

This happened last night in my hometown.

Syracuse Police:12-year-old girl dies after being electrocuted - NewsChannel 9 WSYR

Details are still being investigated but one would have to assume that a properly used GFCI could have prevented this horrific situation.....

Hello!

"one would have to assume "
One, or 101, should never assume.

"a properly used GFCI"
Could be properly used but faulty, incorrectly installed, perfect but a flawed extension cable, a faulty device at the load end of the cable, and on and on.

I understand, and agree with, what you're saying but take exception to any/all assumptions.

Sad, very sad, but it only takes a moment.
I can remember when I was invincible, thank goodness I've grown out of invincibility.

Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[AlecIrwin]

What a tragedy... And an interesting story.

There is no absence of possibilities for how this could have happened. I am going to be following this, it's impossible to conclude what went wrong without details. Faulty extension cord, faulty GFCI, faulty grounding of the water pump, and frankly misuse of equipment are all probable causes. A tragedy in every way.

There is a theater nearby here where one of the students working on light fixtures managed to mix around his hot and ground connectors, so when everything was hung and connected, the actual lighting rail itself was electrified. The next guy to work on lights got a nice shocking surprise when he went up there. To my understanding everyone was ok, but the facility was shut down for a few months. Point being, it's really easy for a lot of electricity to end up where it is not supposed to be.

 

[danhr]

In my OP I did say "could", not "would" have prevented it. I agree that any number of things may have been the cause. Years ago I built a pool deck and hung the plate on the side of my garage. One of the screws went through the wall and nicked a piece of romex inside. When I stood on the wet deck and touched the pool water I was greeted with about 75 volts. (Yes I metered it). The pool pump was GFCI protected but the line in the wall was up stream of the GFCI in the garage. It just shows how many precautions one can take and still freaky things can occur.