Fire officials in Victoria state say Frank Clewer had built up at least 30,000 volts of static electricity in his jacket simply by walking around the city of Warrnambool.

He received his first shock when he walked into a local business. Clewer says, "It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like that."

Officials evacuated the building, fearing the incident might trigger electrical problems, but let Clewer go. When he got in his car, Clewer's problems continued.

He says, "I actually scorched a piece of plastic I had on the floor of the car."