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ROZELLVILLE, Wis. — Investigators said that two people who were found dead in a fire in Wisconsin were killed when they were electrocuted while doing an art technique known as “fractal wood burning.”

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Sheriff’s deputies told The Associated Press that Tanya Rodriguez and James Carolfi were creating art using the very dangerous method when they were electrocuted and a fire started in the Rozellville, Wisconsin, garage where the two were found.

Fractal wood burning, also known as Lichtenberg, is a process for creating designs in wood by using high-voltage electricity. The process, however, is so dangerous that the practice was banned by the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) in 2017.

During a news conference, Marathon County sheriff’s deputies said the equipment used for fractal burning caused the pair’s deaths, and also started the fire in the garage where the pair was found on April 6, the AP reported.

According to the AAW, there have been 33 known deaths caused by fractal wood burning in the United States, Canada and Australia since 2016. Another seven victims are listed as “near deaths” or as having “devastating injuries” caused by fractal burning.

Despite the inherent risk in fractal burning, videos continue to be posted on social media showing the process in action.

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