Newbie almost fried himself with a live wire today, hilarious close call

So im out in the Chicago area on a quick service call, rewiring an old knob-and-tube setup in this 1920s bungalow. The homeowner's kid, maybe 20, thinks hes helping and grabs my Klein multimeter but forgets to set it to AC volts, pokes it into a live 240V dryer circuit without shutting the breaker. Sparks fly, he jumps back yelling FML, but luckily no shock just singed his sleeve. Saw a similar story on r/electricians last week about apprentices and live wires, made me double-check my own gear. Guy in the Electricians Network Facebook group was ranting about how these near-misses keep you sharp. TBH, laughed my ass off after, but reminded him to always test for power first. Been doing this 8 years, still get butterflies around old panels.

man i feel that, had a kid do the same with a fluke last month, scared the crap outta me.

always de-energize first, use a non-contact tester like the klein ncvT before anything.

you doing residential or commercial? these stories always hit harder on resi jobs.

glad no one got hurt, near-misses like that build good habits if you learn from em.

test it on a known dead circuit after too, double check your tools.

dude thats why i carry two multimeters now, one always stays in voltage mode.

hilarious but scary, bet he wont forget that lesson.

controversial take: apprentices should start with pulling permits, not live work.

nah, hands-on is how you learn, just supervise closer.

same here in my shop, one apprentice almost arc-welded his pliers last year.

get em a good ppe kit, arc flash gear aint cheap but worth it.

insurance companies love hearing about these, jacks up your rates.

screw the insurers, focus on safety training instead.

we all been there, my first close call was with romex in a wet basement.

yo, check out electrican U on tiktok, he has vids on avoiding these exact mistakes.

collective rage at these half-assed helpers, get real training or gtfo.

they hate us cuz they aint us, keep sharing these stories tho.

proud of you for laughing it off, keeps the job fun.

how old was the panel? those old federal pacifics are death traps.

yeah old stuff like that, always upgrade to square d qo.

disagree, siemens is fine too, cheaper and code compliant.

wait what, the kid grabbed YOUR multimeter? boundaries man.

felt that, boundaries are key with homeowners.

every damn time, these stories never end.