Man Survives 69,000-Volt Shock

[Analog]

Man Survives 69,000-Volt Shock

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. -- A 22-year-old man who climbed an electrical tower survived a 69,000-volt shock, a jolt that's nearly always fatal, utility officials said.

Jason Grisham was in fair condition Tuesday in a hospital burn unit.

Police and a Cinergy/PSI employee found Grisham asking for help as he emerged Sunday from behind a building at a substation where the tower was scaled. Grisham "appeared to have extensive burn marks on his chest and his pants appeared to have exploded," police said.

Grisham scaled the fence around the tower about 6:30 a.m. and then started to climb the tower itself, rising 12 to 15 feet before he "received a dose of ... electricity and was knocked to the ground," said police, who were seeking a toxicology report.

"Contact with that level of voltage is almost always fatal," Cinergy/PSI spokeswoman Angeline Protegere said. She noted that household voltage is mostly 120 volts.

Protegere said the shock disrupted power to 6,800 customers. The fence Grisham climbed is 7 feet tall and has three strands of barbed wire on top of it.

Protegere said that to the left and right of the spot where he climbed over are "clearly visible signs" saying "Danger/High Voltage."

 

[cjchaps]

I have a friend who had something similar happen to her dad. Her dad got a lethal dose of electricity, and fell 15 feet, which then jumpstarted his heart again :Q

 

[DnetMHZ]

OH.. and so close to a Darwin!

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: dnetmhz
OH.. and so close to a Darwin!

well, hopefully it was just a momentary lapse of brain function, which the shock should cure. Bet he doesn't do THAT again...

 

[Bassyhead]

well that was stupid. i wonder why he climbed the tower

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Bassyhead
well that was stupid. i wonder why he climbed the tower

Seeing as they are going to do a toxoligy test on him, he was probably drunk at the time.

 

[dmurray14]

Originally posted by: Bassyhead
well that was stupid. i wonder why he climbed the tower

Probably trying to top everyone else in wardriving... "imagine all the hotspots I can get from up here!"

 

[Rapidskies]

wonder how many amps was there...

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: cjchaps
I have a friend who had something similar happen to her dad. Her dad got a lethal dose of electricity, and fell 15 feet, which then jumpstarted his heart again :Q

how would anyone know if it jumpstarted his heart?

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: dnetmhz
OH.. and so close to a Darwin!

Well, if his pants "exploded" maybe there was enough damage done that he can still qualify.

How/why the hell would you touch the live conductor though? I mean, they are hanging way out away from the tower ussually from those long insulators, etc. It seems to me like you should be able to climb one of those towers easily, and not touch one of the conductors unless you really tried. And he was only 12' to 15' feet up?

 

[mrCide]

i always thought it was the amperage that killed you, not the voltage.. any stun gun can have 20-100k volts

 

[Anubis]

its not the voltage that kills you its the amps

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: mrCide
i always thought it was the amperage that killed you, not the voltage.. any stun gun can have 20-100k volts

On those lines, I'm sure there were plenty of amps to go along with those volts.

 

[saxophonoia]

wow he got jacked up

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: mrCide
i always thought it was the amperage that killed you, not the voltage.. any stun gun can have 20-100k volts

On those lines, I'm sure there were plenty of amps to go along with those volts.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: mrCide
i always thought it was the amperage that killed you, not the voltage.. any stun gun can have 20-100k volts

On those lines, I'm sure there were plenty of amps to go along with those volts.

Probably not all that many, that's why they have transformers.

 

[jyates]

I'm hoping the electricity knocked his nads' off so we
don't have to worry about him having offspring

 

[DrPizza]

What kills you depends on how it kills you...
At a frequency of 60 Hz, household wiring is close to the frequency of the heart's electrical signals... even with low amps, a mild shock which causes a current through the chest (arm to arm short circuiting) can send the heart into electro-mechanical dissociation, resulting in death. It's still "beating", but all out of sync, resulting in little or no flow of blood. A good thump (falling and hitting the ground perhaps?) can possibly disrupt this and get the heart beating normally again.

But, with high amps, the burns can also kill, depending on the path of the current.

As far as touching the wires on the high voltage lines - not necessary. A grounded object only has to come within a few feet of the lines and they'll arc. I was watching a show on television a few weeks ago... on the lines they were working on, they could arc some amazing amount like 7 or 8 feet. (wow!)

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: dnetmhz
OH.. and so close to a Darwin!

Well, if his pants "exploded" maybe there was enough damage done that he can still qualify.

How/why the hell would you touch the live conductor though? I mean, they are hanging way out away from the tower ussually from those long insulators, etc. It seems to me like you should be able to climb one of those towers easily, and not touch one of the conductors unless you really tried. And he was only 12' to 15' feet up?

Electricity jumps, you know...

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: dnetmhz
OH.. and so close to a Darwin!

How/why the hell would you touch the live conductor though? I mean, they are hanging way out away from the tower ussually from those long insulators, etc. It seems to me like you should be able to climb one of those towers easily, and not touch one of the conductors unless you really tried. And he was only 12' to 15' feet up?

I doubt he even got close to the live conductor, it would have arced to him first.

It is the amps that kills you, not the voltage. However, I think the arcing distance IS affected by voltage, move volts, longer it can arc.

 

[Armitage]

Yea, thought about arcing after I posted ... was about to edit my post to reflect that, but you guys beat me to it

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Whade
wonder how many amps was there...

obviously not enough...darwin candidate is still alive

 

[Phoenix86]

"The Darwin Awards honor those who improve our gene pool... by removing themselves from it."

Techincally if you can not reproduce your have removed your genes from the pool, but I think those entries are only allowed honorable mention.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: mrCide
i always thought it was the amperage that killed you, not the voltage.. any stun gun can have 20-100k volts

On those lines, I'm sure there were plenty of amps to go along with those volts.

Probably not all that many, that's why they have transformers.

 

[dowxp]

not many amps, electricity is sent in 3 phase power at very very high voltage to minimize power loss. v = ir, if v is very big, then inversely i is very small if r is constant. power loss is then p = i^2(r), and if i is very very small, then i^2 is even smaller, thus transmission power loss is very minimal. a higher power factor also helps, but i dont remember much about that.