What could have caused an electrical shock from a concrete patio

cement

I didn't feel it myself, but my son-in-law and my own son said they were shocked when they touched the cemented ground in our backyard. We bought a new metal fire pit which we had set up and both men were picking up some wood off the cement when they were shocked. They said it felt like stinging and when they touched it repeatedly(don't ask me why)they could still feel it. It was just their hand and the cement. They were not touching water or anything else to create a flow.A few minutes later it was gone. It's been about a month and has not happened again.What could it have been? I'm a renter and I'm wondering if I should bother my landlord with this information when it's not happened again. This is a pretty old house.

Best Answer

Cement is not a good conductor so a live electrical charge from the cement is a near impossibility. But that doesn't rule out a static charge. If the humidity was right and enough friction from the wood to break some electrons free just might generate a static charge. But I have never heard of cement getting a static charge before but then again, I'm not moving wood a lot on a cement pad.