Electric Shock
Artificial Respiration should always be promptly given in cases of electric shock.
The rescuer must not touch the body of a person touching a live wire or a third rail unless his own body is thoroughly insulated.
He must act quickly. He should, if possible, insulate himself by covering his hands with a rubber coat, rubber sheeting or even several thicknesses of dry cloth. Silk is a good non-conductor. In addition he should complete his insulation by standing on a dry board, or a thick piece of dry paper or on a dry coat.
Rubber gloves or boots are safer, but they cannot usually be immediately available.
If a live wire is under a patient and the ground is dry it will be perfectly safe to stand upon it and pull him off with the bare hands. But they should touch only his clothing and this must not be wet.
A live wire on a patient may with safety be flipped off with a dry board or stick. A live wire may be safely cut by an axe or hatchet with a dry wooden handle and the electric current may be short circuited by dropping a crowbar or a poker on the wire. They should be dropped on the side from which the current is coming and not on the further side as the latter will not short circuit the current before it has passed through the patient's body. Drop the metal bar, do not place it on the wire or you will then be made a part of the short circuit and receive the current of electricity through your body.
From American Red Cross Text Book on Elementary Hygiene and Home Care of the Sick.