KEY POINTS:
A coroner is criticising the Government for doing little to warn of the dangers of do-it-yourself home insulation, after a man was killed by electrocution while stapling aluminium foil to floor joists under his home.
The death is one of three this year to have happened in identical
circumstances.
At an inquest in the Huntly District Court yesterday, evidence was also given that entire sheets of newly installed aluminium foil below homes could go "live" once stapling jobs were complete, creating a death trap for anyone who subsequently went under the houses.
The foil, also known as Sisalation, is used as a way of insulating floors of homes throughout New Zealand and is commonly installed by home handymen.
The practice of installing it has become widespread among homeowners since the Government began promoting ways of making homes more energy-efficient.
The problem first emerged in Te Atatu, Waitakere City, more than two years ago when a professional installer of the material also died.
Occupational Safety and Health investigated the July 2005 death with the Energy Safety Service, a branch of the Economic Development Ministry.
Like this year's cases, the installer had put a staple through the foil but also through a live electric cable attached to, or near, the floor joists.
Huntly coroner Bob McDermott referred to the three separate, but identical, situations this year.
The Huntly inquest was into the February 24 death in Taupiri of 50-year-old Josef Wennekers, which was followed by fatalities in Wellington (April 8) and Papatoetoe (May 27).
There were emotional scenes at the inquest, attended by Mr Wennekers' daughter Marisa, 22, and widow Willemien.
Evidence from Mr Wennekers' 15-year-old son Leon was read out.
He said he and his father had no idea - as they worked in a confined space below their home's floor - of the grave danger they were in.
Live electrical cables ran below the home, which registered electrician Cornelius (Case) van den Bemd later told the court was a common practice in many New Zealand homes.
Leon told police he was crawling along dirt below the home, to exit the space, as his father began the job of stapling the foil to the floor joists.
He heard his father groan, and went to him. Mr Wennekers was frothy at the mouth and breathing heavily, with his arms stretched out.
Leon alerted his mother, who also crawled beneath the home while emergency services were called.
Both Willemien and Leon Wennekers said they touched the foil and received shocks as they tried to help Mr Wennekers.
Meanwhile, a neighbour came over with a chainsaw to help cut a hole in the verandah to help with access to him.
Despite efforts to revive him using CPR and medical devices from two ambulances, Mr Wennekers died.
Mr van den Bemd said the confined space Mr Wennekers was in prevented him naturally reacting to shock, which was to quickly move back.
The aluminium sheet was also lying on him, complicating the situation.
Energy Safety Service investigator Richard Davenport told the inquest that the second death this year had prompted his organisation to contact suppliers and manufacturers of the foil.
Requests that warning labels were put on the product were made.
But Mr McDermott questioned why warnings about the product were not publicly raised two years ago, when the first death occurred.
He also questioned why safety and awareness campaigns were not launched alongside Government campaigns that encouraged New Zealanders to make their homes more energy-efficient.
