High-Voltage Outlet Jolts Student and District

In what one witness called “the freakiest of freak accidents,” a Kennedy High School basketball player received a serious electrical burn when he leaned against a high-voltage socket in the school gym.

The accident, which took place two weeks ago, has led Los Angeles Unified School District officials to begin to remove, replace or alter about 2,000 such sockets at schools districtwide.

“This is a highly unusual accident, one that we have never seen,” said LAUSD spokesman Erik Nasarenko. He said the district wants to make sure it does not happen again.

“When you’re dealing with children, you always have to go the extra mile.”

The student, Manuel Ramilo, 18, of Van Nuys, said Thursday he plopped down to rest after a grueling practice Sept. 17, leaned his sweaty back against the gym’s wall, and “felt something hot in my back.”

Coach Tim Guy, who said he saw the spark and a small burst of flame, rushed along with other players to Ramilo, who never lost consciousness.

The junior spent two nights at Granada Hills Community Hospital for observation.

Two weeks later, he has an egg-size welt on his lower back, and an attorney.

Ramilo said he was not yet sure if his family would take legal action.

Nasarenko said the incident was not caused by damaged wiring. Although the gymnasium at Kennedy was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and inspections have since shown some settling of the structure, he said that had no bearing on the incident.

“It was a highly unusual accident where a properly grounded electrical outlet resulted in a burn to a student,” Nasarenko said.

The type of outlet that gave Ramilo the jolt produces either 208 or 240 volts of electricity, rather than the common 110-volt outlet used in the United States to power everything from night lights to electric toothbrushes. The higher voltage outlets may be found in many school gymnasiums, Nasarenko said, and in other parts of school buildings to power heavy-duty floor buffers and other machinery.

Since Kennedy was built in the 1970s, fewer appliances and machines require the higher voltage, Nasarenko said.

The school district is in the process of locating about 2,000 of the higher-power sockets at its 661 schools, and working to make them safer, school officials said.

At Kennedy, which was closed Thursday for the Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashana, electricians have already converted the sockets in the gym to 110-volt versions, Nasarenko said. Additionally, safety covers that can be opened only with keys have been installed over the outlets, he said.

The plan is to similarly convert some of the high-voltage sockets in other schools, while others will be eliminated. In areas with little student traffic, however, some of the high-voltage sockets may be left in place, school officials said.

“It’s outdated,” Nasarenko said of the outlet that zapped Ramilo. “It’s not needed anymore; it’s a lot of voltage.”

Daryl Hook, a Chatsworth electrician with 40 years’ experience, agreed with that assessment of voltage: “Getting bit with 208, you’re going to feel that.”

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Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this story.