Worker electrocuted by power line in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Two workers were injured Friday after one of them came in contact with an electrical transmission line in San Jose, the city's fire department said.
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. at the Crescent Village apartment complex on Zanker Road near Vilaggio Street.
The two men were painting the outside of a building at the complex while in a boom lift about 40 feet above the ground.
One of the workers touched a high-voltage PG&E transmission line and was electrocuted.
Featured
Elon vows Tesla will 'make things good' with San Jose bakery
After learning that Tesla backed out of a deal with a San Jose pie shop at the last minute, leaving the business owner out of thousands of dollars, Elon Musk said he would make amends.
San Jose Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Thomas said, "This was not PG&E related, this was a third-party incident. PG&E came here to secure the scene for fire to facilitate the rescue."
Firefighters had to wait until the power lines were de-energized before initiating the rescue."
One of the men suffered burns to his head and chest from the electrocution, while his colleague sustained flash burns. Both were able to move on their own as firefighters assisted them down with a ladder truck.
Anytime, anywhere. Only with FOX LOCAL — download today and install using Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google Android TV, and Vizio televisions. You can also stream KTVU on Samsung TV sets.
The injured workers were transported to Valley Medical Center's burn unit.
The circumstances leading up to the incident are being investigated by Cal/OSHA.
"We don't know what the sequence of events was that led to the contact with the transmission lines," said Thomas.
Jenny Lu, a resident at the complex, said that building management recently informed her that painting crews would be conducting touch-up work on balconies. Lu said she was at a nearby dental appointment when the power suddenly went out.
"Suddenly the whole plaza had a power outage," Lu recalled. "All of the customers had to get out."
Work crews are supposed to stay 30 feet from power lines.