Electrician's hospitalisation prompts warning to never work live

A Victorian electrician has been hospitalised with burns after failing to isolate power to the switchboard he was working on.

The incident occurred at a Clifton Hill property on Tuesday, 4 July, when the licensed electrical worker pierced a live cable with his pliers, causing an explosion that left him with burns on his left hand.

He was taken to The Alfred hospital and has since been sent home.

While the electrician had turned off the power to the property via the circuit breakers before starting work, he did not remove the service fuse, which would have isolated the electricity supply to the switchboard.

As a result, when the pliers pierced live cables and contacted the metal switchboard, an explosion occurred.

Following the incident, Energy Safe Victoria is reminding electrical workers to never work live.

The energy safety regulator’s Never Work Live campaign reminds all electrical workers to ensure they isolate the electrical supply before starting electrical work.

“We often investigate matters like this where electricians are not correctly identifying or testing live electrical equipment, placing themselves and others at a greater risk of injury,” said Energy Safe CEO Leanne Hughson.

Previous incidents investigated by Energy Safe include the death of an electrician who was believed to be working on or near live electrical cables at a Pakenham restaurant in October 2021.

Energy Safe and Victoria’s electricity distributors have created a guide for the safe removal and reinsertion of service fuses.

Additional information can be found at: esv.vic.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/campaigns/never-work-live.

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