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A homeless man in Tainan was left with extensive burns after he got a high-voltage electrical shock from a transformer box that ended up causing a fire. The man, surnamed Huang, has reportedly been in the area for 10 years. He somehow got the key to the transformer box and used it as a locker for recyclable waste that he planned to sell. Mr. Huang sustained injuries from the fire, which also caused a power outage at the elementary school nearby.

A fire has broken out on the lawn, right by the transformer box. Nearby, a man sits at the roadside, topless, because his shirt had caught fire and burned away.

He sustained extensive burns on the back and left elbow. He tries to soothe the pain with a hose.

- I got a shock from the wires inside and my whole body caught fire.
- The fire started when you stiffed things inside, right?

When the firefighters arrived, they rushed to cover his burns with wet gauze. But the area was so large that they ended up covering him with a bed sheet and wetted it. Then, he was carried onto the stretcher and sent to the hospital.

Lin Hsiao-peng
Tainan City Government Fire Bureau
According to our paramedics’ assessment, he has second-degree burns on the back and elbows.

The injured man, surnamed Huang, is a homeless person in the area. He usually stays near the intersection of Xialin Road and Xinxing Road in Tainan, and uses a high-voltage transformer box as a locker for the recyclables he plans to sell. That’s also how he got a high-voltage shock and caused an explosion. All three fuses inside the box were blown, and the nearby Xinxing Elementary School was also affected and had no electricity the next morning. It’s all because of this accident.

Tseng Kuo-chang
Xinxing Elementary School
Inside, there were cardboard fruit boxes and about two to three bags of large-sized waste. There was even an item of waste that was suspended in the air. He’s been in the area for about ten years. He puts all his recyclables and waste on the lawn, and even relives himself at the back.

The elementary school official says that Huang has long treated the nearby public space as his own dumping ground, and school kids often have to clean up after him, which is a real nuisance. But how did he manage to open the transformer box in the first place?

- He has the key.
- How did he get the key?
- We always lock up these boxes otherwise.

The transformer boxes are so dangerous that even Taipower technicians have to wear insulating protective clothing and gloves before working on them. It’s a miracle that Huang could even survive from such a high-voltage electrical shock. The accident revealed misappropriation of public facilities by the homeless man and perhaps even mismanagement of power infrastructure.

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