Electric current on Squirrel Hill bridge killed dog, officials say

An electric current on the Murray Avenue Bridge killed a pet dog in January, a consultant hired by the City of Pittsburgh said in findings released on Monday.

The city plans to implement a new system for investigating similar concerns and will perform inspections on its lighting system in the aftermath of the dog’s death, solicitor Krysia Kubiak said in a statement.

Gene S.
Balenciaga of TopStep 1964 Consulting, LLC in a report outlined his investigation of the Squirrel Hill span, including inspections of the bridge’s four electrical enclosures linked to lights on the bridge.

“After inspecting the four electrical enclosures on the bridge, it is my belief that there was a low voltage current at the first enclosure where the incident happened,” he said, explaining that he believed an electrical conductor had detached and came into contact with the enclosure lid.

People walking across the bridge would not have felt such a low voltage through the soles of their shoes, he said, but an animal without such protection would have felt the electricity.
The dog was electrocuted, officials said.

“When the paw of the dog made contact with the lid of the first enclosure, one or more of his paws were in contact with the ground around the enclosure,” Balencgiaga wrote in his report.
“This completed the path for the low voltage current to find ground.”

Kubiak said city officials had investigated a previous call about concerns at the site that was received through the city’s nonemergency 311 line.
An investigator who went to the bridge to investigate examined all the metal plates looking for signs of electrical current but couldn’t locate it.

If he had found the electrical current, he would have referred the concern to an electrician, Kubiak said.
Since he did not find anything, he assumed the city had the wrong location for the complaint.
The city received the complaint anonymously, she said, and therefore could not reach out to the caller for additional information.

“The city understands now that due to the low level of voltage, a full grown adult with proper clothing would have been less likely to detect the current,” Kubiak said.
“As a process improvement change, in the future, these types of calls will be routed directly to the electricians who have the proper equipment to detect electrical current and the ability to the repairs to the junction box.”

All necessary repairs have been made at the Murray Avenue span already, she said.

The independent report further suggested a complete inspection of the city’s streetlight system.
It also suggested the city implement an inspection schedule to ensure checks every two years.

City officials said they intended to follow such recommendations and perform the needed inspections.