Residual current device saved a life!

The incident involving a 3-year-old child who inserted a key into an electrical outlet in the house they went to for a family vacation brought the importance of electrical safety in homes to the agenda. Evaluating the incident, Occupational Health and Safety Specialist Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan emphasized that electrical outlets in environments where children are present should be made safe and a residual current device should be installed, stating, “Here, a secondary measure saved a life.”

Head of the Department of Occupational Health and Safety at Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences, Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan, drew attention to the precautions that should be taken for children's safety, based on an electrical accident experienced by a family during their vacation.

He inserted his sister's diary key into the outlet!

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan explained that a family from another city settled into the apartment for vacation, and the 3-year-old boy, who was at home with his mother, father, and two sisters, inserted his sister's diary key into an upstairs electrical outlet.

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan stated that the residual current device activated at that moment, and when his mother went upstairs, she found the child on the floor and saw smoke coming from the outlet. The family immediately took the child to the emergency room of the nearest state hospital.

Kept under observation for 24 hours

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan noted that blood and urine tests were performed on the child, an ECG was taken, and serum was administered at the hospital. He stated that after evaluation by multiple physicians, the child was kept under observation for 24 hours.

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan reported that the child was discharged after no problems were detected in the examinations, and the family expressed their gratitude for the care shown by healthcare professionals.

Outlet safety should be checked in every place visited

Emphasizing that the most important lesson to be learned from the incident is to anticipate dangers in environments where children are present, Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan warned, “If you have a small child, you need to make sure there are outlet covers in every place you visit.”
Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan pointed out the importance of taking protective measures against children's access to electrical outlets and stated that families should also pay attention to this issue in the homes they visit for vacation.

“A secondary measure saved a life”

Emphasizing the importance of the residual current device activating in the incident, Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan said, “Ensure that a residual current device is present in every location you are in. Here, a secondary measure saved a life.”

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan, pointing out that safety awareness should be a part of daily life, concluded his remarks with the call, “We must perform risk assessment every minute of our lives.”