Evening star., 1927-04-25
FIRST ERROR KILLS
ELECTRIC WORKER
Utilities Board Orders Safety
Probe After Power of
City Is Cut Off.

The Public Utilities Commission to-
day asked the electrical department
of the District to make an investiga-
ton of the panel board in the Benning
plant of the Potomac Electric Power
Co. to determine whether any safety
device can be installed to prevent
recurrence Of the accident yesterday
which killed an employe and paralyzed
street car traffic and stopped every
thing else that was dependent upon
the electrical service.
Col. Harrison Brand, vice chairman
of the commission, believes that the
accident was due to a human element
that cannot be removed. He pointed
out that the power plant is regarded
as a model of efficiency and safety.
An investigation by an electrical ex-
pert, however, he said, may reveal
whether it is possible to add some
protective device to the instrument
board.
A coroner's jury today returned a
verdict of accidental death.
Was First Mistake.
For seven years Joseph G. Spraker,
an electrician at the Benning station
pulled switches without making mis-
take. Yesterday afternoon he pulled
the wrong switch. There was a blind
ing explosion, and for more than an
hour the greater part Of Washington
was without light and power. Five
hours after he made his fatal mistake
he died of burns at Casualty Hospital.
Lights went out all over the city,
street cars were stalled, elevators
stopped between floors and thousands
of persons dependent upon electricity
found their apparatus useless.
Two Blasts Follow.
1t was just about 1850 o'clock when
the live switch was pulled, causing a
short circuit which resulted in an ex-
plosion of such violence that it ripped
through the oil switches and discon'
nected boxes containing a powerful
voltage. Two additional explosions
Immediately followed, coming like
flashes of lightning, and blowing the
protective housing from the machin-
cry of the plant.
His clothes aflame from the first ex-
plosion, Spraker ran about Is feet be-
fore he fell to the floor. Bergling, a
fellow employe, smothered the flames
by throwing an oyercoat about his
DOuS. 1dhtI W Casualty I1OcplleiA IL
was necessary to carry him to the sec
ond floor, since the accident at the
plant had made the elevator useless.
Officials of the power company stated
this morning that Spraker had a long
record of efficiency and had never be-
fore made a mistake. He had pulled
the same set of switches virtually
every day for the past seven years.
Leaves Wife and Two Children.
Each of the switches Is contained in
a numbered box, protected by heavy
door and it was necessary to lift the
door before pulling the switch. Before
touching the live switch. Spraker had,
as usual, pulled two dead" switches.
He was about 30 years old and lived
at Mclean, Va. He leaves wife and
two children.
A few minutes after the fatal acci-
dent, l.. E. Sinclair, general superin-
teffdent, personally directed the work
of repairing the machinery and sue
ceeded in having the trouble entirely
corrected by 4 o'clock, while some
service was resumed prior to that time
Interurban electric lines as well as
local street cars of the Washington
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