It’s 9:30 on a Tuesday morning. A second-year apprentice is running cable through a switchboard on a commercial build in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne. The work is routine — the kind of job he’s done dozens of times. Then something goes wrong.
He contacts a live conductor. His body stiffens, he can’t let go, and within seconds he slumps to the floor.
His supervisor is twenty metres away. Another tradie on site is even further. Neither has responded to an electrical incident before.
What happens in the next three minutes will determine whether this young man walks out of hospital or not.
This post walks through exactly what should happen — and what too often doesn’t.
Step 1: Don’t Touch the Victim Until the Power Is Off
The most dangerous instinct in this situation is the urge to grab the person and pull them away. If the power is still live, you become the next victim.
The first thing anyone on site should do is call out to the worker — loudly. If there’s no response and the situation looks electrical, your priority is isolating the power source before getting physically close.
On most commercial worksites, this means locating the main switchboard and isolating the relevant circuit using the site isolation procedures established under Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice: How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks. Confirm isolation before you approach.
If the worker is still in contact with an energised source and the power cannot be quickly isolated, do not touch them. Call 000 immediately and follow dispatcher instructions. Attempting to push or drag someone away from a live source using a non-conducting object — like dry timber — is a last resort and should only be attempted if you are specifically trained to do so safely.
Step 2: Call 000 Immediately
This happens in parallel with isolating the power, not after.
One person isolates. Another calls 000. On a well-run site there’s a chain of command for exactly this situation, and everyone knows their role before it’s needed.
If you’re alone, call 000 first, then isolate if it’s safe to do so.
The dispatcher will stay on the line, provide instructions, and alert the closest ambulance. Time matters enormously with electric shock — cardiac arrest can follow within seconds of the initial contact, and the heart may already be in an abnormal rhythm before the person hits the ground.
Step 3: Assess and Begin CPR if Needed
Once the power is confirmed off and it’s safe to approach, check for:
- Response — is the worker conscious? Do they respond to voice or touch?
- Breathing — look for chest rise, listen for breath sounds, feel for air movement
- Signs of injury — entry and exit burns, fall injuries (workers often fall after a shock), or trauma from muscle spasm
If the worker is unresponsive and not breathing normally, begin CPR immediately.
Follow the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) guidelines: 30 chest compressions to 2 rescue breaths if you’re trained and willing, or compressions-only CPR if you’re not confident with rescue breaths. Compress hard and fast — aim for 100 to 120 compressions per minute — and minimise interruptions.
If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is on site, get it as quickly as possible without stopping CPR. Electric shock can cause ventricular fibrillation — a chaotic heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping effectively — and an AED may be the only thing that restores a normal beat.
Step 4: Treat for Shock and Burns While Waiting for Paramedics
Electric shock doesn’t always cause dramatic visible injury, but internal damage can be significant. High-voltage incidents can cause deep tissue burns, organ damage, and spinal injuries from muscle spasm.
Even if the worker regains consciousness and seems okay, keep them still and calm. Don’t let them walk around or downplay what just happened — the urge to shake it off and get back to work is real, and it can mask serious injury.
For burn injuries at contact points, cool the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes. Don’t use ice, butter, or any other home remedy. Cover loosely with a sterile or clean dressing if available.
Keep the worker warm to help prevent physiological shock — the body’s systemic response to trauma. Lay them down if possible, unless a spinal injury is suspected.
Step 5: Document the Incident
Once the immediate emergency is being managed, someone on site should start recording what happened — time of incident, circuit involved, what the worker was doing, what steps were taken, and when 000 was called.
This documentation matters for several reasons. Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Victoria), serious workplace incidents must be reported to WorkSafe Victoria as soon as practicable. Preserving the scene and documenting the sequence of events protects workers, supports the investigation, and ensures the cause is identified so it doesn’t happen again.
Your site supervisor or employer has specific legal obligations here. It’s worth being clear on what those are before an incident occurs — not scrambling to find out in the aftermath.
What This Scenario Reveals About First Aid Readiness
Here’s the uncomfortable reality: almost everything that went right in the response above depends on people having had training — and having had it recently.
Knowing not to touch a live victim. Knowing how to locate and isolate a circuit quickly. Knowing how to perform effective CPR. Knowing how to use an AED. Knowing how to treat a burn correctly without making it worse.
None of this is instinctive. None of it can be learned in the moment.
WorkSafe Victoria requires that workplaces maintain an adequate number of trained first aiders, appropriate to the hazards of the work environment. For electrical trade work — which carries genuine risk of cardiac events, burns, and fall injuries — that’s not an administrative formality. It’s a practical safety requirement.
Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice: First Aid in the Workplace recommends that all workers have access to first aid equipment and that first aid officers are trained with skills refreshed regularly. For tasks like low voltage rescue (LVR), annual renewal is required under the relevant units of competency.
If someone on that Melbourne worksite had completed their LVR and first aid training recently, the response looks very different. They approach with confidence. They know the steps. They don’t freeze.
That’s what training is for.
Get Your Team Ready Before the Next Incident
If you work in the electrical trades, manage a crew, or oversee safety on a construction or industrial site, AB First Aid offers practical, trade-relevant first aid and low voltage rescue training in Tullamarine, Victoria.
Our courses are delivered by experienced trainers who understand the real hazards of electrical work — not generic content designed for office environments.
Book your first aid training or view the full course schedule and enrol today. Get your team trained before the next incident, not after.
References
- Australian Resuscitation Council. (2021). ARC Guideline 8: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. https://resus.org.au/guidelines/
- Safe Work Australia. (2020). Model Code of Practice: First Aid in the Workplace. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-first-aid-workplace
- Safe Work Australia. (2021). Model Code of Practice: How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
- WorkSafe Victoria. (2023). Electrical Safety in the Workplace. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/electrical
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Victoria). https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au
