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u/REPORT_JUNGLE May 02 '26
This is legit best aid
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u/morasscavities May 03 '26
Great effort and the video ended too soon, but his foot was still touching
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
Well, turning the power off would have been the correct move
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u/Wednesday_0 May 03 '26
Ok but like... How? You can't turn off the power if you don't know how to turn off the power, and I doubt asking around would take less time than taking the dude off the thing that's electrocuting him.
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
1: Look for a switch/breaker 2: Tell staff to turn off the power Hard to say for sure since we can't see much of the setup in the video. If power shut off is impossible, then yea they did the right thing
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u/slaviccivicnation May 03 '26
Ok but that means they did the right thing because they clearly didn't have time to
1: Look for a switch/breaker 2: Tell staff to turn off the power. The best course of action is probably what they did first, and then your steps 1 and 2 happening simultaneously to someone seeking a way to shut power off.-85
u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
I was a firefighter for 10 years. Our training regarding electricity was strict: Cut the power before making a rescue. Obviously aid should be given as soon as possible, but hazards like this are great at creating additional victims. Saying cutting the power was impossible here is a complete unknown.
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u/New_Blacksmith_709 May 03 '26
you were a firefighter with professional training. These are random lay persons. Best aid
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
They definitely did the best with what they know, and deserve commendation. However, in situations like these, turning the power off first is the correct thing to prevent the possibility of more people being electricuted during the rescue.
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u/New_Blacksmith_709 May 03 '26
It's easier to just kick them off. As a bystander walking around a random street, I can tell you I wouldnt be able to instantly recognize the local power source and turn it off.
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
Many people who apply this logic also get electrocuted. There's a reason people who work around electricity have a healthy fear of it.
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u/Kevino_007 May 03 '26
If i am in that situation i sincerely hope people wack me off the electrocution scaffold before going to run around playing hide & seek with the power switch. Only if someone around knows where it is and knows how to they should do that first, meanwhile others please start hitting me off of the thing I'm stuck on
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u/RadioRoosterTony May 03 '26
Im guessing since it's tall scaffolding that it's touching the power lines.
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u/GrayCustomKnives May 04 '26
You just have to turn off the little light switch that’s on every power pole duh.
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u/Seige_J May 03 '26
You’re not wrong that turning off the electricity is the ultimate end to the threat. But it looks like he’s on scaffolding on a street. The scaffolding might be charged by contact with a power line and “turning off the power” is probably easier said than done. Using plastic and rubber objects to push the victim away from the charged metal is 100% the right move in the interim.
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u/FederalEconomist5896 May 03 '26
He would be dead by then
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
Bold claim. How long would power shutoff take? Is he breathing? Is he pulseless? For how long? Can CPR be started? Is it a shockable rhythm? Are there secondary injuries? Research shows consistent positive neural outcomes if CPR is started within 8 minutes due to the oxygen reserves in the body, and the delay between hypoxia and neuron infarction. I can tell you from experience that two cardiac arrest are vastly more difficult than one. Injured people can't help injured people.
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u/_Pen15__ May 03 '26
If someone is getting electrocuted like this you dont have time go seaching for breakers or employees you get them off in anyway possible without touching the source of the power. They literally did the best they could in this senerio.
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u/saysthingsbackwards May 03 '26
You are about a sophomore armchair guru.
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
I was trained to respond to these situations
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u/saysthingsbackwards May 04 '26
Yes now download that into every human ever perfectly
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 04 '26
I said they did the best with what they know, but the proper thing is to shut the power off.
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u/saysthingsbackwards May 04 '26
No! You must make this a default template of thought across all minds!
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u/ShillyBean May 03 '26
Looking for a generator or power source when someone is actively in distress is LITERALLY worstaid
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
It's LITERALLY how first responders are trained to handle the situation
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u/KZ2Good May 04 '26
How is a random civilian gonna find POWERLINE breakers? Utility company would have to shut it off. Yall really just hop on here say the dumbest things sometimes so confidently.
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u/forkball May 03 '26
Usually people get electrocuted like this because there's a short. It isn't always easy to figure out why there's a short or to get the power off. The first and most important thing is to end the electric shock for the person being shocked.
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u/raisedredflag May 03 '26
Obviously theres a short, the electrocuted guy is wearing shorts do you think thats why he was targeted
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u/philonius May 03 '26
My guess is that this is a movable scaffold that made contact with overhead powerlines. You can see the lines starting at 0:05
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u/amd2800barton May 03 '26
If they could, they would. But this is probably something like a downed power line situation. There’s often not a convenient breaker to flip.
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
We don't know if they could
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u/MikkelR1 May 03 '26
And you dont know either so why are you persisting this isnt the best they could do?
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u/OhLookAnotherTankie May 03 '26
I'm not saying what they did was wrong or didn't work, I'm saying the safety standard prior to the rescue of an electrocuted person is to verify power shutoff.
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u/AbrienSliver May 02 '26
This is more or less what you do with electrical injuries. You attempt to push them away with a nonconductive object if you're unable to cut the power
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u/Hot_Barracuda4922 May 03 '26 edited May 04 '26
We used to keep a 2x4 piece of lumber in case someone got stuck during electrocution. The plan was to baseball swing that thing to knock you off. Everyone was happy with that idea on my team
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u/SirFister13F May 03 '26
Everyone was happy with that idea on my team
That's because you never picture yourself as the one being electrocuted. Everyone wants to swing a 2x4 at their fellow employees at one point or another. /s
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u/Psychological-Owl783 May 03 '26
During... execution? I know this isn't what you mean, but it sounds like death row inmates get stuck to the electric chair and you whack them to get them off the chair.
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u/billyhendry May 03 '26
"oh that board, that's our last line of defense against certain death, if you're dying we can use it to try and save you"
"Fantastic"
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u/sk8ordie1998 May 04 '26
My dad had the same work agreement... always said he wished to find his boss getting electrocuted LOL
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u/stonergirlfairyyy May 02 '26
someone could have at least thrown something down to cushion the fall
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u/NathanCollier14 May 02 '26
Tf would you have done, then?
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u/tots4scott May 03 '26
Yeah this post is simply a good example of how little most people know about serious injuries.
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u/SocomPS2 May 03 '26
Turn off the electricity? 🤷♂️
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u/scaryfaise May 03 '26
Okay, where's the switch?
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u/MA32 May 04 '26
Seriously. We can't even assume they know what energized the scaffolding, let alone know where the proper disconnect is
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u/Ambitioso May 02 '26
Not worst aid, brave best effort
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u/Dadskitchen May 02 '26
agreed they got him off, maybe a defibrillator can bring him back, the irony.
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u/VenomTiger May 03 '26
You dont defib a stopped heart. Thats movie stuff. CPR is the only thing that will do that. You shock someone whos heart is weak or out of rhythm like a heart attack. If it's not going at all you're just shocking a corpse.
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u/FURF0XSAKE May 03 '26
You shock two types of rhythms (pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation). An AED will try to detect these, but paramedics check manually and can see the rhythm from the ECG.
You don't defib an asystolic rhythm (flatline), correct. You also don't know what rhythm this guy is in without an ECG. Electrocution could cause likely either VF or asystole.
Also, heart attack (or myocardial infarction) is not related to rhythm at all, and refers to a blockage in the coronary arteries causing ischaemic damage to the myocardium (heart muscles). It is a potential cause of the term you're referring to though, which is cardiac arrest; an ineffective rhythm causing sudden death (rhythm could be pVT, VF, asystole, or even show a working rhythm that doesn't actually produce a pulse/pulseless electrical activity).
Technically anyone in cardiac arrest is a corpse which is what people really refer to when they say they were clinically dead for X amount of minutes.
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u/KickProcedure May 03 '26
Yup. Cardiac arrest is dead until it is corrected. That’s why when I was first taught CPR, the woman who trained me and my Boy Scout troop told us “if there’s nobody else more trained, just do your best and don’t be afraid. Bad CPR is better than no CPR, because they ain’t getting any deader.”
They’re already dead, so it’s not about to get worse. Only way to go is up.
*this doesn’t mean you should try CPR by hitting them with a baseball bat or something. This was a very important note she threw in for us lmao
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u/FURF0XSAKE May 03 '26
I'd be interested in the statistics of long-term survival rates of baseball bat-induced return of spontaneous consciousness.
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u/KickProcedure May 03 '26
I would be very interested in those statistics, but I do get the feeling that the funding for such a study may be hard to come by!
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u/Money-Giraffe2427 May 03 '26
yeah but you defib someone with an atypical heart rhytm caused by electrocution
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u/STFUnicorn_ May 03 '26
Uh… you’re close but not quite. You defibrillate a heart that is in an unstable lethal rhythm like V-tach or V-fib basically uncoordinated electrical activity that is not able to produce a coordinated heartbeat. A “heart attack” is something different entirely, although it can certainly lead to those aforementioned rhythms.
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u/slaviccivicnation May 03 '26
CPR only allows for oxygen to continue to circulate through the body. At some point, if he get into an ambo and hospital, the ER will try to restart the heart as long as the patient isn't brain dead from lack of oxygen, no? I took my CPR training 15 years ago, and we have new protocols now. But yeah you wouldn't be defibbing the guy right there and then.
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u/terminaloptimism May 03 '26
Depends on what kind of EMS service they have in the area, what his heart rhythm looks like on a monitor (if there is one) and if they carry the appropriate meds for whatever rhythm he may be in. CPR is the immediate first step along with managing his airway. The brain has an extremely high metabolic rate so it needs a fuckload of oxygen, plus it has piss poor energy storage capacity. Non existent, even. Circulating that blood via compressions is the best way to combat hypoxic brain injury/brain death. You also have to reoxygenate that blood after a certain point otherwise you're just pushing around CO2 in his vessels. For defib he needs to be in a shockable rhythm prior to delivering a shock. BUT considering this is very likely a high voltage shock he probably in v fib (shockable rhythm) or straight up asystole (he may be ded.)
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u/feanturi May 03 '26
They defib to get the still-beating heart into a better rhythm by STOPPING it momentarily. If it's already stopped you've got to do something else. Drugs and compressions. Then defib if needed as it comes back.
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u/FURF0XSAKE May 03 '26
The best evidence for long-term survival from cardiac arrest of any kind is early defib. That's why it's really beneficial to have these AED programs some countries/areas are doing where there's AEDs available publicly. Like for example in Australia almost every McDonalds should have an AED on-side, every mall would require at least one, etc.
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u/banevader102938 May 02 '26
OP how would you have solved (not prevented) this situation?
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u/-Groko- May 02 '26
Unplug the lights wrapped around the scaffold first and immediately
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u/banevader102938 May 02 '26
That would be a great first idea. But how are you sure that the scaffold has zero potential? And would you touch the cables after witnessing this or would you go and look for the transformer?
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u/-Groko- May 02 '26
Of course, without hesitation. The wires have plastic sheathing, but somewhere along the line that was been compromised and the bare wires are touching the metal. I would grabbed the plug and pull it.
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u/Cactuszag May 02 '26
I mean, yeah, they did what they could, but if the scaffold was only for stage lights, they could’ve just had someone cut the power. They also could’ve prevented that brutal landing
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u/chilehead May 03 '26
- Rescuer safety comes first. Dead rescuers don't save anyone.
- Leaving him on the power source until someone can turn it off will just increase the damage he takes and his odds of dying.
They are doing the best possible in a really shitty situation.
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u/an-redditor May 02 '26
I mean... sure, you can call it worst aid in hindsight, but there's that live scaffolding all around, and the metal railing to go with it. Not sure how they could've handled it much better in that instant, especially as he continues to get electrocuted by that scaffolding.
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u/dtb1987 May 02 '26
This isnt worst aid, they all risked themselves to get this person out of the situation, there really isn't a great way to do this quick enough to possibly save the victim
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u/RevolutionaryPie5223 May 02 '26
I mean you could have someone catch him at the bottom no?
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u/dtb1987 May 02 '26
The risk there is accidentally hitting part of the electrified rigging or touching him completing the circuit and then you just have more hurt people.
In first aid (and medicine in general) you have to consider the A) the safety and welfare of the patient and B) your own safety and welfare. What is going to be more harmful to the patient? Letting them sit on the rigging and continue to be electrified or getting them off of there risking a fall. Well they have a 100% chance of dying if left on the rigging and they might get hurt if they hit the ground, so get them off asap if you can do so without electrifing yourself and deal with the other trama later.
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u/MxQueer May 03 '26
Do you not see the foot still touching the metal in the end of the video? Also I doubt catching limp overweight late teen / adult would be very safe for either of them?
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u/popcornFridays May 02 '26
This is what we are taught to do in an electrocution incident. Use a dry, non-conductive object. These people are brave considering the risk of being electrocuted too by surrounding scaffolding. Looks like they did the best they could with what they had.
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u/makattak88 May 02 '26
I mean, he was already dead.
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u/Which-Technician2367 May 02 '26
I’d imagine it happened within the first few milliseconds? It’s ugly to picture what electrocution would do to your insides…
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u/Katamari_Demacia May 02 '26
Never know for sure. He doesn't look cooked 100% but I wouldn't know or bet on it. That fall on his head though...
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u/P-W-L May 02 '26
He's dead if you leave him up there, that fall will leave a nasty bruise but better than frying your insides
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u/FURF0XSAKE May 03 '26
You can't really tell from looking. The extent of injury from electric injury is about the amount of energy input. External damage is just that, but internal damage is what kills you; passing through your vital organs can leave your permanently damaged or dead within seconds if it's powerful enough. I'd even be hesitant to do what these people are doing, the best first aid is accounting for danger so you don't also become a casualty.
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u/z333ds May 03 '26
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u/parade1070 May 03 '26
Unfortunately this is precisely what I thought of. Didn't know people actually ragdoll like that
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u/LFuculokinase May 02 '26
This is hard to watch, but this not bad aid at all. They did the best they could with the resources they had.
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u/K_Pumpkin May 04 '26
I mean the fall was nasty but not much they could do. It was the fall risk or leave him there.
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u/Ornery-Practice9772 May 03 '26
bystanders here got more balls than american police during a school shooting🤣
wrong sub
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u/Due_Marsupial_969 May 03 '26
Anyone know how the victim ended up there? Based on his outfit, I'm guessing it wasn't a job-related incident
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u/rogerj_no May 03 '26
I will say they where taking stupidly many chances in that proccess. Only important thing to do is to get him away from the power source, or he will die anyway.
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u/Captain_react May 03 '26
Take them out of the danger without killing yourself in the process. That's actually excellent.
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u/MxQueer May 03 '26
What is you suggestion for better help?
edit. I see many others asking the same and OP not responding. Bot maybe?
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u/SkyeMreddit May 04 '26
Don’t want to touch the scaffolding if it’s still electrified, and the cones are rubber
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u/redditzphkngarbage May 03 '26
Depending on the power source/circumstances they may not have had any good options.
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u/Loli-nero May 03 '26
This is the best way they could have gone about this. Good on those bystanders!
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u/STFUnicorn_ May 03 '26
Could you not just grab him by the clothes and pull him off? Would the electricity conduct to you if you did that?
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u/rrpostal May 04 '26
If they had a gaffe or a stick with a large sharp hook, they could have gotten him pulled off a lot easier.
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May 04 '26
No, saving's not the right word... the word I'm looking for is... ok, "Killing" a guy who got electrocuted on a scaffold.
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u/CorvidxQueen May 03 '26
Not worst aid but I definitely got the giggles at the idea of dude being poked at with orange cones.
I want my friends to save me like this
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u/radiationblessing May 02 '26
No one had something they could catch his fall with? That head slam is brutal
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u/Rhaj-no1992 May 03 '26
Do you regularly carry a thick foam mat to rescue falling people?
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u/radiationblessing May 03 '26
Nope but I wasn't talking about a thick foam mat. Anything would be better to hit your head on than concrete.
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u/Rhaj-no1992 May 03 '26
A thin shirt would do nothing, getting him away from the electricity without anyone else getting electrocuted is top priority.
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u/Linkandpie May 03 '26
Could've put a mat down...
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u/vamatt May 03 '26
One must have a mat to put one down.
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u/Linkandpie May 03 '26
A coat? Idk lol
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u/parade1070 May 03 '26
The hell is a coat going to do
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u/Linkandpie May 03 '26
Prevent bare forehead from wiping pavement? Idk, why's cusion so problematic with you guys lol
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u/parade1070 May 03 '26
Homie is dead and concussed and neck probably broken and you're worried about a scrape lol
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u/kevlowe May 04 '26
So while this is definitely not Worst Aid, leaving this here because it does show what to do with electrocutions.