When Electrical Contact Becomes Life-Threatening: Understanding Safe Contact Release Methods

Electrical accidents happen in an instant, but the response in those critical first moments can mean the difference between life and death – not just for the victim, but for anyone attempting a rescue. Per the NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, all employees exposed to electrical shock hazards must receive annual training in safe contact release methods, yet many workers still lack the knowledge to respond effectively when a colleague becomes energized by electrical contact.

The natural human instinct when witnessing someone in distress is to reach out and help immediately. This impulse becomes deadly when dealing with electrical emergencies. Anyone who directly touches a person in contact with energized electrical parts will become part of that same circuit, potentially turning a single victim scenario into multiple. 

Fortunately, there are several proven methods for safely releasing someone from electrical contact without becoming a victim yourself. In this clip from the 6-Hour NFPA 70E Electrical Safety Training, HeatSpring instructor Jason Brozen explains those methods. To get your team trained up on all things electrical safety, consider enrolling them in the full 6-Hour NFPA 70E Electrical Safety Training.

Transcript below.

 We’re going to start off today talking about contact release training in 110.4(C)(1). It tells us that employees exposed to electric shock hazards and those responsible for the safe release of victims from contact with energized electrical conductors or circuit parts shall be trained in methods of safe release. Refresher training shall occur annually. 

It means every year you should sit down in a room and talk about your specific situations and how you’re going to do contact release. 

There’s a few different ways to do contact release. You got the method on the left there that’s otherwise known as the Hacksaw Jim Duggan method, where you take a 2×4  and hit the guy.

There are kinder, gentler methods now for contact release, primarily if you’ve got a contact release hook there like that in the middle. You’re going to use that to pull people free from the hazard that they’re hooked up on. Generally, you’re not going to have that hook. In all the facilities that I walk around, you don’t typically see those hooks. Some you do.

In your case, a lot of times you’re going to need to look for an extension cord where you can wrap that around that individual and pull them free from that load. Or you could find a big rubber or plastic trash can that you can push them free from that hazard. Or you could take your belt off and wrap that around that individual and pull them free.

The biggest concern is you do not want to contact anybody who’s in contact with electrical parts. You will become part of that circuit, so that’s very important. When you’re wrapping that thing around anybody, you just need to make sure and not touch them. 

You’re going to know that they’re hooked up on energized parts, because they’re not going to be moving and they’re going to be working on something electrical. So very, very important.