This took place in Berks county, Pennsylvannia
Met-Ed worker in Allentown-area burn center after accident in Spring Township
Thousands of utility customers in western Berks County lost power for about two hours Sunday after crews cut electricity to rescue the man.
By Michelle Park
Reading Eagle
Thousands of utility customers in western Berks County lost power for about two hours Sunday after crews cut electricity to rescue a Met-Ed worker who had come into contact with a line in Spring Township, officials said.
The worker, whose name was unavailable, was taken by ambulance to Reading Hospital after he was shocked by the 69,000-volt line shortly before 5 p.m., authorities said.
He was in an Allentown-area burn center today after being transferred from Reading Hospital, a spokeswoman for the utility company said.
Met-Ed spokeswoman Karen R. Baxter on Monday declined to release the man’s name or provide any information on his injuries, saying only that he was transferred Sunday night to the Lehigh Valley Hospital burn unit.
"We’re all very concerned for him but I’m not at liberty to release his condition," Baxter said.
Crews cut electricity to the line at Old Fritztown Road and Frederick Street so they could lower the 30-foot crane on which the man had been working. The outage also knocked out power to traffic signals at State Hill and Van Reed roads and the area of the Broadcasting Square shopping center.
Baxter said the accident is under investigation.
The worker was injured near the border of the Met-Ed and PPL service areas. It also is near the border of Spring and Cumru townships.
Nearly 9,000 PPL Electric Utilities customers lost power for almost two hours after the accident, said Don E. Stringfellow, regional community relations director for PPL. The hardest hit areas were Spring and Heidelberg townships, he said.
Some scattered Met-Ed customers also lost power, Baxter said.
The Met-Ed employee was working from a bucket truck to repair a utility pole when he came into contact with the power line carrying 69,000 volts, authorities said.
<script></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=558;c=12/9;s=5;x=2304;u=j;z=145326427" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="300" height="250" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=558;c=12/9;s=5;x=2304;u=j;z=145326427" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>
Sixty-nine thousand volts is a significant energy source, Stringfellow said. It is 575 times greater than the voltage in a residential outlet.
The worker was conscious and talking to rescuers shortly after the accident, Spring Township Fire Chief Michael P. Roth said. He didn’t know the extent of the man’s injuries.
She did not know if the line is owned by Met-Ed or PPL.
The Met-Ed employee was working from a bucket truck to repair a utility pole when he came into contact with the power line carrying 69,000 volts, authorities said.
The worker was conscious and talking to rescuers shortly after the accident, Roth said.
Barry L. Stetzler, who lives nearby in Cumru, said he was clearing ice off his car when he heard a loud cracking sound. He said he ran behind his house and saw a brown plume of smoke.
"I heard something explode, like a big boom," he said. "The man was up in the bucket, screaming. He said, 'It's getting hot up here.' "
After the electricity went out, emergency power was used at a Christmas program attended by about 500 people at Conrad Weiser High School near Robesonia.
Although it was difficult to see, the chorus and soloist made it through a few pieces before coordinators ended the event about 15 minutes early, according to a Spring Township resident who attended.
St. Daniel's Lutheran Church in Robesonia sponsors the annual event.
•Contact reporter Michelle Park at 610-371-5022 or
mpark@readingeagle.com.
Lineman shocked by 69,000 volts
Linear Mode
