Telephone Lineman Severely Burned in Rhode Island Electrical Power Line Accident

By Mary Mitchell

Published on July 19, 2006

The accident occurred in a Providence neighborhood on the afternoon of July 18.

When the first-responders arrived at the scene, the man was still on fire, draped over the side of the basket and wires. Firefighters were initially unable to rescue the man because of fears that he, the basket, and the truck and boom that held him aloft were still carrying an electric current. They used a "hot stick," an insulated rod that detects the presence of an electrical current, to confirm that the equipment was no longer electrified, enabling them to bring the basket down safely and extinguish the flames.

The man was semiconscious on the trip to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was estimated to have been burned over 80% of his body.

The utility company National Grid said that the electrical power to the area was not disrupted by the incident, and that they would investigate the cause of the accident.

The Providence deputy fire chief at the scene hypothesized that the worker moved his basket against a guy wire that holds two utility poles straight, and that in doing so he accidentally made the guy wire contact the power line.

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