FATALITY AT WAIPORI.
SUPPOSED ELECTROCUTION.
[Press Association.] DUNEDIN, To-day. The electric cars were momentarily stopped this forenoon, owing to a fatal accident to George Shrimpton, single, employed at the Waipori electric power works as general utility man. No particulars of the accident are available. Shrimpton's parents live at Berwick. He was about 25, and has been engaged on the works since they started. He is supposed to have been electrocuted. He was one of the best men employed at Waipori, and had been selected for promotion. -Bush Advocate, 12/9/1907.
The circumstances under which George Shrimpton met his death at Waipori are not disclosed to us by the electrical engineer. There is an uneasy feeling abroad that the works at Wafpori are unsafe. It is said that another man, named Clothier, also received a heavy shock, and had a narrow escape. No doubt all the important facts will be disclosed at the inquest tomorrow morning. -Evening star, 13/9/1907.
ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.
THE WAIPORI ELECTROCUTION.
The authorities are (the "Otago Daily Times" states) strangely reticent over the Waipori accident, but, as far as can be learned, it appears that Shrimpton, together with an older man named Clothier, was engaged in taking glazed pipes (presumably to be used for insulating purposes) to an upper room, where sudden death is lurking on all sides. The men reached the room without mishap, and the deceased deposited his burden, weighing some 50lb or 60lb on the floor, and turned to help his companion. The moment was his last. His head came in contact with an overhead copper switch, it is stated, and he collapsed and fell back over the pipe he had been carrying, death having been instantaneous. As he fell he evidently touched Clothier, who received a tremendous shock which, fortunately was not sufficient to kill him. Clothier was in a dazed condition for the greater part of the day. Shrimpton's body was conveyed to one of the houses near by, and late in the afternoon a vehicle was sent from Berwick to convey it to Outram. Deceased was severely burned and disfigured about the head and neck, and although the men at the works had little doubt that life was extinct, they applied artificial resuscitation for two hours ill the hope of restoring vitality. An engineer, commenting on the accident, states: "There should be no part of the 30,000 volts alternating system within reach of a man's head. It is extremely dangerous to approach the wires and switches in this department, and to go near with anything in the shape of metal in one's possession is positively courting death. Even the casing of the apparatus, in the event of a leakage, is dangerous. -Mataura Ensign, 13/9/1907.
THE WAIPORI FATALITY
THE INQUEST.
VERDICT OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH.
Mr C. C. Graham (coroner) and a jury of six, of whom Mr T. A. White was foreman, held an inquest on Saturday at Outram concerning the death of George Shrimpton, the man who was killed at the Waipori electric works on Thursday through his head coming in contact with one of the switches at the works.
Mr W.C. MacGregor appeared for the City Corporation, and Mr J. M. Gallaway for the relatives of deceased.
THE EVIDENCE.
Frederick William Clothier, the first witness called, said he was a labourer, occupied at the Waipori Falls Electric Power Works. He knew the deceased, and identified the body. Deceased was similarly employed with witness. On Thursday, the 12th inst., witness was in company with deceased, carrying pipes into the power-house. They carried the pipes up two flights of stairs into the upper storey of the building. They had each carried up a pipe, and were carrying up the others, and deceased put his pipe down. Witness was just behind deceased, with a pipe on his shoulder, and deceased turned to assist him with the pipe he was carrying when witness received a shock. Both he and deceased fell together. As far as he was aware witness did not come in contact with any of the wires. The wires came straight down from the roof through the floor, and were guarded round above the floor for about 4ft or 5ft with pipes and railings. When witness recovered himself, he crawled away on his hands and knees, and was assisted downstairs to the open air.
To Mr MacGregor: They started at 8 o'clock in the morning, and were instructed to take down two barrels of oil from the stable to the power-house. They had been instructed to do this, by Mr Keon, the previous day, and had taken down seven barrels, and that left two to be taken down. They did not take these two down on the Thursday morning, because they thought the track was too slippery, and it was dangerous. Shrimpton suggested taking down the pipes instead. Witness had no instruction to take down the pipes. There was no danger as regards the electrical appliances in taking down the oil. Shrimpton said they would have to take the pipes through the powerhouse up to the switch-room. They were not allowed to go into the switch-room unless ordered to, or accompanied, by Mr Keon. On this particular morning they went in by themselves, without any instructions so for as witness was concerned. Witness acted at the instigation of Shrimpton. Witness knew he was going into danger. Shrimpton also must have known he was going into danger. He said they would have to be very careful upstairs, and they were very careful. Shrimpton was a very careful man. They went in by a little side door to the work-room. The switch-room was the most dangerous room in the power-house. The man on the watch could not see them going up the stair. Witness was just behind Shrimpton, who asked him to put down his pipe.
To Mr Gallaway: Witness had been in the switchboard-room before. Last time witness was there he was cleaning out a large oil tank. He had never taken up any of these pipes before, but could not say whether Shrimpton had done so. Witness thought they had been instructed to go there, but Shrimpton did not say so. He said, "We had better take these pipes upstairs." He said it was too frosty for the other job, and that they had better take the pipes up to the power-house. Witness presumed Shrimpton had instructions. Mr Keon never told witness to take instructions from Shrimpton.
To Mr MacGregor: It was not on a Sunday that witness was in the switchboard-room before. The current was not shut off. He and a man named Turner were at the far end of the building, away from the switches. There was no danger in that part of the building.
To the Jury: Witness and Shrimpton both fell together. The wires were about 2ft apart, and the pipes about 2ft long and lft in diameter.
William Henry Keon, first operating engineer at the Waipori electric works, said that on Thursday morning he understood deceased was sledging oil, as instructed the previous afternoon. He had no instructions from witness with regard to carrying the pipes. At 8.58 a.m. there were indications of a dead short (a short circuit); and the generators increased in speed momentarily. The current was immediately turned off by the switch board nttoudant. Witness smelt something burninig, and looked through into the transformer room, and proceeded upstairs. Turning to his left in the switch board room he found Shrimpton hung up on the guard pipes. Witness then returned to the switch board and gave orders that the circuit was not to be put on the line again. He then returned and assisted to carry Shrimpton's body to the switch board gallery. Shrimpton was quite dead, and the body was left in charge of Blackwood. Witness then rang up his chief (Mr Stark) in Dunedin. and notified him of what had happened, and asked for a doctor to be sent out. He rang up the staff at the cottages to come down to assist in the attempt to restore consciousness, which attempt was kept up for two hours and a-half, but without avail. Clothier was lying on the floor when witness first saw deceased and was about 3ft away from deceased. There was a pipe alongside Clothier.
To Mr MacGregor: Clothier and Shrimpton were employed as labourers, the latter coming to the Waipori works in February, 1906. He was nn exceptionally intelligent man, and would never be idle. He was aware of the danger of coming in contact with the wires or switches. Witness had often spoken to him of the danger. The current was on continuously, except for a few hours on Sunday. Witness had never before known a labourer enter the switch board room while the plant was in operation without being accompanied by a responsible person. There was no danger in Clothier being where he was cleaning the oil tank. There were boards marked "Danger" hung round the switch board room. Shrimpton would pass four danger boards before coming to where his body was found. There was no recognised passage where the men were. It was the most dangerous part of the chamber. Witness had told Shrimpton not to do things before. He was very eager, and never liked to be idle.
To Mr Gallaway: Clothier had been there from the inception of the works. Witness never told Clothier he was to take instructions from Shrimpton. The earthenware pipes surrounding the wires were put there during construction time. Mr Stark gave orders that these new earthenware pipes were to be put in. The instructions were given by Mr Stark some weeks ago. He said he was sending the pipes out. The first batch of 12 came out a few days before the accident, and were unloaded by the waggoner. Witness believed the whole staff knew where the pipes were to go. Clothier and Shrimpton had carried others up that morning, and these two were evidently taken on a second trip. Witness would not have attempted to put the pipes there then. His intention was to carry them up on a Sunday morning, when the current was off. Witness never dreamed of ordering the men to carry the pipes up there, he did not consider it practicable to protect the disconnecting switches so as to make it impossible for a man to come in contact with them. Witness did not consider it was dangerout to take the oil down that day.
To Mr MacGregor: There were 64 switches in operation in the switch room, and it might be neccesary to operate any of these at any moment. In witness's opinion it would be more dangerous to have these switches protected in such a way that removal of the protection would be necessary before operation.
To the jury: It was in consequence of static discharge that the pipes were to be taken out and replaced. The change was to prevent this discharge, and was not with a view of increasing the safety although it might have that effect.
Mr MacGregor: There is a misconception about these pipes. They are not intended as a protection to the men, but to the wires.
Dr Fulton, deposed that on Thursday he proceeded to the electric power works at Waipori, and reached there about 2 p.m. He went to the hut in which the body of deceased was lying, and made an examination. Shrimpton was quite dead. His face and neck, right shoulder and arm, and right side down to the level of the elbow were all scorched. The hair on his face and head was burned and there was an indentation on the back of the head where he had come in contact with the switch. His hat was partially scorched. The nails in his boots were fused, where the current had gone through to the earth. After hearing the statements made, witness concluded that Shrimpton had died instantly. Witness went to the power-house with Mr Keon and inspected the scene of the accident. On going in witness saw great danger boards, in all directions, and realised he was in an absolute death-trap. Mr Keon and the father of deceased went up into the switch-room with witness. He saw on the end switch evidences of deceased's contact with it. On the down wire through the pipes there was also evidence of contact. Mr Keon impressed upon them the necessity for extreme caution, and took them down a back stair into the transformer-room. There was no one there. A possible prevention to accident that had occurred to witness was that there should be on the doors notices, that no one should enter without a permit. Witness did not see any reason why a bar should not be used to protect the 12 switches where deceased met with his accident.
Mr Keon said that would be more dangerous, and was not practicable.
Witness (continuing) said he had formed the opinion that the building should be practically as inaccessible as a prison. The precautions were very good, but it struck one that there was a lot of uninsulated wires about, carrying a high current.
THE SUMMING-UP.
The Coroner said they had gone pretty minutely into the circumstances connected with the death of deceascd. It was unfortunate that Clothier had fallen with deceased and received a shock, as he was able to tell but very little of what occurred. That death was due to accident there could be no doubt. Deceased might have overreached himself in taking the pipe off Clothier's shoulder, but it was evident that the cause of death was accidentally coming in contact with a live wire. The question was whether all necessary precautions had been taken to prevent such an accident. They were told by Mr Keon that no one had any right to go into that place except they were accompanied by an expert, and that no instructions were given to Clothier or Shrimpton to go in there. They were also told that Shrimpton was an intelligent and zealous man, anxious to do all the work in his power. He had had his instructions from Mr Keon, but as he did not think it safe to sledge the barrels down, he thought he might employ his time in taking the pipes to the switch-room. To do such a thing without consulting Mr Keon seemed to have been an error of judgment on Shrimpton's part, for which the poor man had suffered. Taking everything into consideration, they could only come to the conclusion that deceased did what he was practically forbidden to do, and he (Mr. Graham) thought the jury would be perfectly justified in returning a verdict that no blame was attachable to anyone. Mr Keon said he had given strict injunctions that no one was to go into that room without instructions, or without being accompanied by him. As to extra precautions being taken, he (Mr Graham) did not think he or the jury was in a position to judge. It was a matter for experts.
THE VERDICT.
After a brief consultation the jury returned a verdict — "That George Shrimpton died at the electric power works at Waipori on the 12th September, the cause of death being accidentally coming in contact with a live electric wire, and that no blame was attachable to anyone." The jury recommended that access to the main building be at all times prevented by means of locking the doors, which were to be under the control of the man in charge. -Otago Daily Times, 16/9/1907.
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