– I have had insane luck. I could have died, says Kenneth Frøland. Three weeks ago, the 41-year-old took a bath in the jacuzzi at home in Skiptvet. During the 30-minute bath, he noticed that something was not right. The bath could have fatal consequences. – I suddenly felt a murmur in my body and my fingers started to curl when I put my chest next to the jacuzzi to get air. I had to use force to unfold them. Then I started to smell burnt electricity. Earlier that week he had washed the jacuzzi and refilled it with new water. Then Frøland forgot to turn off the water. He thinks the water has cleared and that a leak has led water into the junction box. – If I had had my legs standing in the jacuzzi, I could have completely collapsed. The fuse box was supposed to be waterproof, but it obviously wasn’t. Kenneth Frøland bathed in this jacuzzi when he received electricity through his body. The company he bought the jacuzzi from is now bankrupt. Photo: private – Felt like a million needles Frøland has worked as a plumber for several years, and quickly realized that he had to get out of the water. Over the course of the evening, the pain gradually worsened. – It started to tingle strongly in the feet. It felt like a million needles, he describes. Department director in the Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB), Johan Marius Ly, says that it is important to have respect for electrical products and water. – Electricity and water can be a deadly combination. Water increases the probability of a fault with the electrical product, and at the same time reduces the skin’s ability to withstand the passage of current. Through the pandemic, interest in spa baths has increased in Norway. On Finn, there was a 30 percent increase in searches for “jacuzzi” from 2019 to 2021. Recommendations for using a jacuzzi: If you bought an electric hot tub, it must have the CE mark – documentation that the product meets basic safety requirements. Always follow the user manual and instructions. If something is to be fixed to the electrical system, contact a registered electrical company. Always use a grounded socket. Appliances over 1000 watts must not be used with an extension cord. The extension cord can get too hot and start to burn. Source: DSB Warns others with jacuzzi DSB has no reported electrical accidents or serious incidents with spa baths. But in 2014, they became aware of a potential danger of electrical accidents with a certain type of inflatable hot tub, but no serious incidents have been reported. In Skiptvet, Kenneth Frøland was quickly picked up by an ambulance. Healthcare professionals then performed an EKG measurement to determine if the heart was beating correctly. Kenneth Frøland took it all in with a smile when he was transported in the ambulance to the hospital. Photo: private After a night of monitoring at Sykehuset Østfold, he was discharged. But it took a fortnight before Frøland was completely well again. He believes there are several reasons why the water in the hot tub suddenly conducted electricity. The jacuzzi is eight years old, he thinks there has been a fuse failure and that water got into the electrical system. The jacuzzi never shorted out. – It should have been a fuse that would have had an earth fault and collapsed. But now the bathtub will be divided into pieces, and an electrical check will be carried out throughout the house. I recommend everyone to do that, says Frøland.
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Got an electric shock in the jacuzzi – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
