Beachcomber, I wonder how close the swimmers were to the energized line or metal. At 120 volts, it would seem that you would have to be fairly close or in contact with the energized object because of the voltage gradient in the water at a distance would be too low to be dangerous.
Reminds me of the time, many rears ago, at an amusement park where a teen was killed. He jumped into one of the ponds with a fountain. Unfortunately the fountain housing was dumping 120 volts into the water due to a fault. John
> >what would happen would depend on how close people were to the line, if they
> >were touching something, say a grounded metal ladder.
> >
> >>
> >> I have a "what if" here. What if we had been in the water and it fell
> >> into the pool?
>
> Even if it is a neutral, I would say your concerns of a dangerous
> situation are valid. The actual danger would be more difficult to
> determine with the information given. Electrical Accidents at boat
> marinas where a fault in a 120 v. line that have resulted in
> fatalities to nearby swimmers are not all that uncommon. Rememeber a
> utility line is not going to be protected against ground faults (other
> than normal overcurrent protection). Downed wires and swimming pools
> are just not a good mix.
>
> Beachcomber