Call for Logan to be ‘transparent’ about Eagleby Aquatic Centre closure after man escapes electric shock

A southside council is refusing to release full details surrounding the closure of a public pool, where a cleaner escaped death after hitting 110,000-volt power lines with an aluminium cleaning pole. VIDEO

A top-level state government Workplace Health and Safety investigation is continuing into a southside council pool, where a cleaner escaped with his life after hitting 110,000-volt power lines with a cleaning pole.

Logan City Council officially closed Eagleby Aquatic Centre this week, with Mayor Darren power claiming the facility was “tired and dated and the time has come to close it down”.

However, an Electrical Safety Office spokesman said the pool was still part of an investigation after power lines were hit with the aluminium pool cleaning pole in February.

Power lines overhead at the Eagleby Aquatic Centre.

Workplace Health and Safety and the Office of Industrial Relations’ Statewide Investigations team undertook a comprehensive investigation into the council facility after the incident.

That investigation is continuing with an outcome and recommendations yet to be made.

The spokesman said investigators found the power lines were at the correct statutory height of 6.5m.

He said the staff cleaner was “extremely lucky” to be alive after his pool cleaning pole hit the state’s main electricity transmission line between Belmont and the Gold Coast just before 10am on Sunday, February 20.

Neighbours reported hearing a loud “bang” at the time the powerline was hit above the 25m four-lane lap pool just before it opened to the public.

The Electrical Safety Office spokesman said it was a “significant incident” and the man’s life was spared because of the angle the pole hit the water, the way the man was holding the rod and where he was standing.

The incident blew out the power and the plumbing at the aquatic centre’s amenities block.

He said the electricity bolt slammed into the water, cracking two dinner-plate-sized holes in the concrete surface — one on the wall and one at the bottom of the pool.

The heat from the electric current was estimated to be more than 1200 C and melted the aluminium pole with the lower part plunging to the bottom of the pool, where investigators found craters on the wall and on the bottom.

The man was jolted backwards with the hot top part of the pole brushing across his calf, leaving a thermal burn and part of the pole scratching across his right foot.

It also blew up the filtration equipment, the electrical installations and plumbing in the amenities block, which were all connected by water pipes.

The spokesman said the man suffered electric shock but was “miraculously” not severely injured and was treated in hospital for a minor cut to his foot and a thermal scalding on his calf along with shock.

“Because the pole was almost vertical and went into the water directly where he was standing, he was saved by a principle called ‘step and touch’,” he said.

“The electricity went right into the water where his toes were, and his hands were only on the last two metres of the pole, so he and the pole were parallel and his feet were on granite tiles, which is why he did not receive severe shock.

“The circumstances of the way he was standing and holding the pole saved him from severe electrical shock.

“If he had put the pole a metre away from his feet and it was on a 45-degree angle, he would have got a severe electric shock and we probably wouldn’t be talking to him.

“The preliminary findings show the pole breached the 3m exclusion zone for the power lines.”

Eagleby residents said they wanted the pool to be upgraded and wanted it to remain open to the public.

Logan City Council has been asked to respond to the claims.

Eagleby residents aired their grievances about the pool’s closure at a meeting on Monday evening and at a gathering at the pool last week.

Resident Belinda Thompson said the council needed to be “transparent” and tell the public the truth.

“The council has said the closure was after a thorough Workplace Health and Safety investigation, ageing infrastructure and several issues over many years but none of this information has been explained to the community in a transparent and logical way,” Ms Thompson said.

“The community deserves to know why this pool is closed because it is an important part of the community — especially during summer.”

Logan City Council released a statement last week but did not mention the cleaner receiving an electric shock.

The council was also contacted again for comment about the incident.

Originally published as Call for Logan to be ‘transparent’ about Eagleby Aquatic Centre closure after man escapes electric shock