Child Critically Injured by Electric Shock at Maryland Resort
A 6-year-old girl received a severe electric shock, and the man who tried to help her also was injured in an incident that took place last week at the MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino in Oxon Hill, Md., according to the Washington Post newspaper.
The paper reported that Prince George’s County Fire Department officials said the girl suffered injuries that are “consistent with an electrocution.” She was taken to a hospital in critical condition and remains there.
An initial investigation found that two children were touching a rail that was energized with lights and is located near a fountain at an outdoor part of the resort called the Potomac Plaza.
Via a Twitter video post last Thursday (watch the video here), Assistant Fire Chief Alan Doubleday explained the situation in detail. He also praised his fellow firefighters as well as a Prince George’s County police officer who immediately began performing CPR on the child. “It’s a very tragic situation,” Doubleday said. “But we know in our hearts that we gave this child every opportunity.”
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been marking the summer season with reminders about the risks of electric shock drowning and a pair of tentative interim amendments clarifying and refining the parts of the National Electrical Code that pertain to piers, marinas, boat launches and docking facilities.
