My understanding is that DC breakers are somewhat prone to fires for this reason, too.
The electricians I was working with also told me stories about how with the really big breakers, you don't stand in front of it when you throw it, because sometimes it can turn into a cloud of molten metal vapor. And that's just using them as intended.
Another story in the same line is that I heard that a horse got killed by contact with a lantern battery, but I don't have any reference for that, just a story by a family member that collected coaches.
Allegedly
While on "work experience" from high school I was put on washing power lines coming straight out of the local power station near the ocean - lots of salt buildups to clear.
Same deal, flashover suits and occasional arcs .. and much laughter from the ground operators who drifted the work bucket close.
Any kid could do it. Probably. But not a drunk one and instead of waiting long enough for both wheels to stay synchronized indicating there would be only a small jump in phase he just said f* it and connected the two anyway. Predictably, this led to a serious disturbance to the grid which in turn caused a whole lot of other stuff to disengage. Since his chances for re-employment on account of his new-found fame were somewhat minimal he decided to emigrate instead :)
It would have self-extinguished if you waited long enough for the probe to vaporize.
I think its that DC breakers are more expensive, so people use AC rated breakers instead. They are both rated for 400v @10 amps, its the same thing right?
It turns out they are not, and most people, even electronics types rarely play with 200v+ of DC.