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Life Guide U.S. essentials
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If someone is electrocuted, cut the power first, then push the source away with a dry wooden stick or similar, and don't pull them with your bare hands

  • Top value
  • Evidence B
  • Buys life
  • Free
  • Takes minutes
  • No willpower

In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.

In plain words

First cut the power, or push the source away with a dry wooden stick or similar, and only then touch the person. If you grab them with your bare hands, one victim becomes two. Once they are free of the source, if they aren't breathing, start pressing right away as in §13.1 (press hard on the chest), and don't hold back because it is an electrical injury. For a downed high-voltage line or near power equipment, don't handle it yourself; stay well back and wait for the power company to cut the power.

Cost

Free.

What you get

Keeps the rescuer from being shocked too, which would turn one victim into two. Once free of the source, a person who isn't breathing gets CPR as in §13.1 (press hard on the chest). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control's first-aid steps are: look first, don't touch, the person may still be live. Cut the power if you can, and if you can't, push the source away with something that doesn't conduct electricity, such as cardboard, plastic or wood. Once they are free of the source, if breathing or pulse has stopped, start CPR at once. One review says that people whose hearts stopped after electrocution and who were revived often do well afterward

Notes

"Cut the power before touching the person" is a purely self-protecting rule: if you grab them, you are the second to fall. For a downed high-voltage line or near power equipment, don't handle it yourself; stay well back and wait for the power company to cut the power. For cardiac arrest caused by electric shock, do compressions as usual and defibrillate as usual, and don't hold back because it is an "electrical injury."

Evidence grade
B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
Sources
  1. US CDC. What to Do to Protect Yourself From Electrical Hazards（First aid 一节）. https://www.cdc.gov/natural-disasters/response/what-to-do-protect-yourself-from-electrical-hazards.html
  2. Spies C, Trohman RG (2006). Narrative review: Electrocution and life-threatening electrical injuries. Annals of Internal Medicine 145(7):531-537. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-145-7-200610030-00011

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 18. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer