Failure of equipment grounding and a faulty surge suppressor were found to be the cause of an electrical shock incident that sent 3 people to the hospital in Penobscot County Maine. The incident occurred at a Maine campground swimming pool in August, and the results of the investigation were released this October.

Two adults and a child were taken to the hospital with serious injuries after they were shocked in the pool on August 9 at the Cold River Campground just outside of Bangor, Maine.

The pool remained closed until the investigation and assessments could be made. Kern Butler, the Maine State Electrical Inspector, led the investigation. According to Kern’s report, the people involved were near or touching the ladder in the pool nearest to the pool building. The ladders and all metal components are supposed to be connected to the pool grounding system. However, electrical continuity testing revealed that the equipment grounding conductor had failed underground at some point. Further testing at a nearby cabin from which the pool house received power found that a 50-amp surge suppressor had failed and was supplying 120 volts into the ground system.

It was determined that failure of the equipment grounding conductor going to the pool building, and the failure of a surge suppressor were the two events that caused the incident and injuries.

Butler concluded that the people closest to the pool building and that ladder would have received the strongest shock potential from the ground system being energized at this location.

The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office said that several other bystanders also risked their lives when they jumped in to help, but they were not hospitalized. On the day after the incident, the campground owner, Kathy Medeiros, said that the boy who was injured is 8 years old. The adults were an older man and a woman who tried to help. They were all taken to the hospital, but Medeiros everyone was “fine and doing well,” and they were released from the hospital that day.