Drowning from Electrical Shock it happens in Ponds and pools more than you think . Luckily new technology can alert to this hazard

 A young family on vacation the 2 young girls get on their bathing suits and cant wait to get swimming in the pond  at there rental cottage. they slip into the water off of the dock  and their father who is close by notices one daughter appears to be in distress  . He runs to the dock as he yells to wife to call 911  to find both girls not moving he dives in to save them but his life is alsmost taken as well. 

Hi joints are locking up he can barley move and becomes unconscious luckily the local rescue squad removes him and he is saved but its too late for the girls.

It is later revealed bad wiring at the dock for a light put an electrical charge in water around the dock.

Unfortunately this scenario is playing out all over the country as witnessed in articles below.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-warn-about-electric-shock-drowning-after-15-year-old-girls-tragic-death/

https://nypost.com/2019/07/17/9-year-old-california-girl-dies-from-electrocution-in-pool/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLqftHp8eCo

Badly installed wiring , faulty and deteriorating wiring  its all over the place I have been warning about this for years. and a Ground fault Interrupter GFCI  will not protect you.

But now there is a product available to prevent this Called Shock Alert which gives  an alarm when it detects electrical current in a water source  

 

https://www.shockalert.com/

 

It both beeps and gives a visual alert  when it activates  and is simple to deploy and use.

around $200.00 or less  retail  it is now a required item in new electrical installations 

where water is involved .

There is an even more sophisticated unit on market called Dock lifeguard  which warns as well as cuts off the docks power by tripping the GFCI

https://docklifeguard.com/

This silent killer as it is known is only going to get worse as pools and docks and their infrastrutue gets older . 

If your going swimming at a lake or pond  follow following tips

• Use a plastic ladder, rather than a metal one, so it won’t help transfer electricity into the water.
•  
•  
  
• If you start to feel a tingle in the water, swim away from the dock, which is where most electrical issues occur.

• Check all of the wiring around your dock, including your ground fault circuit breaker. 

Have fun this summer but do so safely 

Fire Departments doing dangerous Practices during Drill nights and then posting them on Social media .

 When it comes to Fire Dept's and Drill Night I am seeing an ever alarming amount of poor and tottaly unsafe practices by these dept's.

Then they post their practice pictures showing serious safety violations  on Social media and think nothing of it .

Take a fire Dept in Beaver County Pa. who where practicing High and  Angle  Rope rescue Techniques in what appears to be a waste water treatment plant .

They have their rescue rope tied off around a large Variable Frequency Drive units .

A serious Major OSHA Violation  due to nature of  This equipment capable of producing hazardous Arc flashes which can explode the requirement you must be properly trained and some time attired with PPE before you even go near it.

Had an OSHA inspector walked in while that drill was going on there would have been hell to pay and plant operator would face hundreds of thousands in fines if not loose operating privileges .

When a Fire dept goes into an industrial setting during drill nights . They must follow all applicable OSHA regulations just like any other employee or Contractor. 

This is not a suggestion its an Order as we are told om job sites and fire dept's better get with it. Before there is a serious accident.

Talking about Accidents waiting to happen check out this picture. I found on a Fire dept's Social media page

What the hell is this fool thinking using a power tool with no safety glasses standing on some type of table .

If he tried that on a job site he would be fired.

I see pictures all the time of jaws of life being used in a game called Junga? where they practice with the tool to remove blocks of wood etc. and no safety glasses as required by OSHA that tool no matter how well built it is can break and splinter and object being cut can shatter and blow debris everywhere .

Where is the safety officer ? 

No wonder so many firefighters get hurt on the job for not using common sense and not following standard safety protocols. Established by NFPA and OSHA

I was recently stuck behind a traffic accident  with a fellow firefighter on I-68 in WV when I finally was allowed thru accident scene there was a fire fighter standing in traffic no safety gear on no flashlight or lights flashing on truck being used to block road.  and it was a very dark scene I stopped got out of truck yelled at firefighter and gave him a reflective vest  I had on truck. again where is the safety officer?

I see dept's that do it right and I see too many who do not . 

Its time for dept's to wake up and get proper safety training and safety  officers in place .

I see all too often firefighters not in reflective gear working  traffic or a scene both day and night  

and if you do get hit by a vehicle and not properly attired you are in for serious trouble. 

You failed to follow safety rules you can be denied insurance coverage  for the accident .

Your dept could have its insurance dropped .

Do we need a Safety Stand down and Review in Pa. and WV definitely

 

 

Before you hire that Amish Crew to do the Remodel project on your home Know the risks. You could end up losing your home

 Yes the Amish are known for quality work at a great price but this is not always the case and there are major reasons why they can do it cheaper which could see you sued and loss of your home.

When hiring an Amish Crew you must do Due Diligence and realize the following.

 1. They do not pay their crews Social Security Taxes  . Amish are exempt from it as community takes care of their own

2. The Amish Crews do not follow OSHA  Occupational Safety and health Administration  Codes that's why there are deaths of Amish on jobs every year higher than standard crews. 

3 . They are not covered by Workmen Disability Compensation/ just look at this underage boy working on a roof with his father

 

4. They often do work without getting proper permits and inspections as my Penn Hills Neighbor found out they had to rip off his new porch and rebuild it properly with thicker columns.

5# The man who brings them to the job site often underpays them for the work they do 

6# Often underage children are brought on job to do dangerous work  

So as you can see all the above regulations allows them to offer a lower price but you do not always get quality work.

Typically an outsider hires them and then offers their services to you he brings them to jobs etc.

Not the way you want to do it you want to deal directly with the Amish.

Know that if one of the Amish workers gets hurt on your property and its serious you can get stuck paying all their medical and disability expenses and your home owners insurance can deny your claim

 Because you did not properly hire a registered crew working with permits. The Amish take care of their own but not always . Their are some phony Amish crews out their  as well

Plus their are Ex Amish and Mennonites doing work  who do not qualify under the exemptions and must follow all rules of a conventional contractor.

 Before you hire any Amish crew  check with you local code authority's and check with your home owners insurance to make sure your covered if something goes wrong.

BEWARE UV-C Ultraviolet Light Disinfection Bulb Scam during Covid19 Scare- It could hurt your health

 With Covid 19 Scare now going on around the world Be-aware there are now all kind of Dubious and Scam Products and Gimmicks  on the market that claim they disinfect Surfaces and Air around you.

 https://www.klaran.com/klaran-university/about-uvc

The problem is to properly disinfect a surface you need a UV-C or B  bulb and have to be shield from it while it is running  up to 60 minutes or it can destroy and damage your skin and eyes and possibly cause cancer.Plus the debate is still being studied of it even thoroughly kills Covid 19

https://www.healthline.com/health/does-uv-kill-coronavirus#uvc-light-and-coronavirus

 

So when you see adds just change a light bulb and disinfect the air that's a real beware to the consumer 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/health/coronavirus-ultraviolet-uvc-sanitizers-fda-wellness/index.html

You can not just put a UV-C bulb into a lamp and use it it must have a guard around it or otherwise be encased  .

In some cases bulbs being sold as UV-C type are actually nothing more than black light  bulbs you see at Halloween party's they do absolutely nothing .

and forget the wands you just wave over items they are just as useless it takes several minutes of concentrated light to properly disinfect.

I recently purchased 2 products to try the Phone Sanitizer from Sharper Image actually works you put your phone in and takes 6 minutes a side you can also disinfect small items like keys as well.

you can actually smell ozone the bulbs produce . At $50.00 its not cheap but it works beware cheap imitators

  I also purchased an area sanitizer made by Globe Electric that appears to work and have not received tests back yet but when tested on ultraviolet rocks gives off correct shortwave  color compared to a black light. and it is EPA registered 

when you turn it on it has a 10 second delay so you can get away  and is rechargeable and works up to 2.5 ft  and takes 60 minutes to disinfect surfaces like a work station.

For now its Caveat Emptor Buyer Beware  do your research and choose wisely.

 

 

How Pennsylvania and many other states Courts Allow for Slip and Fall and other Fraudulent court cases to Flourish

 So it happened to me an Office Building I Take care of in  county   over from me an Employee claims Emergency Light came down and Seriously Hit them .

OK I know from start its a fraudulent case no way it could hit them would have to be standing directly under it not very likely.

Unfortunately no cameras in place but after this happened owner has cameras everywhere and all the little Horse Shit things like lights and signs getting bumped  that where going on in the building stopped inst that strange.

So I call my Insurance company  and Claims adjuster calls me agrees sounds fishy says Lawyer that specialize in these cases will be in touch.

So get a call meet with attorney give him all the information tells me if he was a layer being asked by supposed injured person to file a claim he would not have taken it unfortunately plenty of sleazy lwyers would .

That's when he tells me how these con Artists and Criminals get away with Slip and Fall  

They file a claim in Pa. case under $25,000.00 dollars so it is heard by an Arbitration Board Court which is 3 lawyers who hear testimony and decide cases . 

There is no  voice or written recording of witnesses or Depositions of , plaintiffs or defendants  etc. So witnesses can not be charge with perjury as they would in Pa Common Pleas Court.

So they can go before the arbitrators who have to believe who is most telling the truth and often times award small amounts $2500.00 to $5000.00 . regardless if case is fraudulent or not.

So these fraudulent cases persist because sleazy attorneys take the cases knowing they are going to put at least $1500.00 in their pocket for filing some paper work because most insurance company would just rather pay off than fight it in court. 

Now these con artists know they can file numerous cases and get away with it seldom are they ever prosecuted which is a dam shame.and all it does is jack up cost of insurance.

and the cost to you the consumer. 

 

Slob Contractors put young athletes lives at risk by not capping Natural Gas Line as required by Plumbing Code and properly securing Score Board

 A customer of mine  is leasing an old  Industrial Quonset Hut  which was part of large company that made industrial grade buffing wheels and compounds near Pittsburgh .

He has converted it into a Basketball Training Facility

He went with the contractor the landlord recommended because he has used them in the past big mistake.

It has been one problem after another due to incomplete shoddy work . Door Frames not properly installed and leaking air and wobbling etc etc etc. just bad craftsmanship everything they touched

Well one of the biggest and most reprehensible items they did is when they removed an old Gas Space Heater in the men's room  .

Instead of unscrewing the pipe to it and capping or plugging  it they cut it off with a Sawzall and left pipe open.

So when the young people who come into play and learn Basketball Skills  could set off an explosion by accidentally having a loose ball hit the ball valve and leak gas into the facility. Which was hidden under the thin  Insulation sheet .

Plumbing Codes all require unused ends of pipes to be plugged or capped for this exact reason and had the county Health Inspector come on site and found this it could have resulted in a $15,000.00 fine to the contractor .

To make matters worse the Ohio State contractor who came in to install the high tech plastic Flooring and Score Board never prepped floor properly  and hung a 300 pound score board using dollar store Carbiner's .

and failed to properly torque the backboard on the hoops and one has already broken.

and violated every OSHA law while working like not using rails on scaffolding or safety harnesses .

 Just total complete slobs always in a hurray to run to the next job never caring about quality because they don't have to see it everyday and never have to come back. 

I often get stuck fixing things these slobs have done the customer pays me to fix it then goes after the slob and often has a hard time getting a rebate or otherwise compensated. 

and often these general contractors just like the flooring company all use sub contractors so finding and tracking them down and making them responsible is often hard.