When a house is on fire, they will usually use use water to put it out. But aren‘t they at risk of getting an electrical shock since there is usually still power in the house and they flood everything with water?
In: Engineering
Fresh (non-salty) water isn’t very conductive. A little bit of the electricity might make it around, but most of it can’t.
Also electricity takes the path of least resistance. There’s no reason for the electricity to come back to the firefighter when all it “wants” is to go back to the other wire in the outlet.
Though the risk of electrical shock is quite low, many cities require an electrical shutoff on the exterior of the building specifically so firefighters can turn the power to the building off while they work.
Latest Answers