This Happen around here in 2010. Think Twice!
MILFORD -- A Bridgeport man was killed and a second man injured when their aluminum ladder came in contract with electrical wires Tuesday evening.
Victor Larranaga-Marquez, 33, of 96 Atwater St. in Bridgeport, was pronounced dead at the scene. Larranaga-Marquez and his uncle, Gerrardo Marquez-Hernandez, 45, of 169 Scofield Ave. in Bridgeport were power-washing a house at 65 Point Beach Drive when the accident occurred at about 6:30 p.m., police said.
Marquez-Hernandez was transported to Bridgeport Hospital's burn unit for serious, but nonlife-threatening injuries, said Officer Jeff Nielsen, the Milford police spokesman. He was reported to be in fair, stable condition Wednesday afternoon by a hospital spokesman.
Representatives of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the United Illuminating Co. are continuing the investigation.
"Our safety department is working with OSHA, and the message is that safety is the most important thing, not only for our employees, but for the public," UI spokesman Al Carbone said.
Carbone and Capt. Chris Zak, spokesman for the Milford Fire Department, said ladders being used by the men came in contact with the service line from the utility pole to the house, carrying 200 amps of electricity.
"That's all it takes,or even less, to kill you, depending on how the electricity affects your heart," Zak said. City firefighters also use aluminum ladders, but have it drilled into them during the 15-week training "to check overhead for any obstructions before you put up a ladder," he said.
Carbone said that UI recommends that property owners stay at least 10 feet away from power lines, even the feeder lines to their homes. "It might look like the wire is coated or insulated, or you may think that it is not live, but you should never assume that it is safe," he said.
Homeowner Michael Pinto was not at home when the accident happened, but returned at about 10:30 p.m. "About 85 people called me, and my brother is a cop in Stratford, so I heard about it," he said.
Pinto would not identify the company that he'd hired to do the work, which he described as "regular spring maintenance."
"I don't want to do that to them; it is a reputable, well-known Milford company," Pinto said. Although some neighbors reported that the power was knocked out by the accident, Pinto said none of the clocks in the house was blinking when he returned. "We lose power a lot down here, from the wind, and that's the first thing you look for."
Carbone confirmed that the Point Beach neighborhood did not have electricity disrupted by the accident. "They may have seen a flicker, felt a blip at contact, but that would have been it," the UI spokesman said.
The two men involved in the accident had begun work Tuesday afternoon, and were water-blasting under the eaves at the front of the house, to correct an area where the varnish had peeled, neighbor Mike Brown said.
"From what I was told, they didn't lower the aluminum ladders they were working on, but just leaned them back, and the ladders came in contact with the high wire above the house," Brown said.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article...washing-Milford-home-508544.php#ixzz1uPf0IPYy
MILFORD -- A Bridgeport man was killed and a second man injured when their aluminum ladder came in contract with electrical wires Tuesday evening.
Victor Larranaga-Marquez, 33, of 96 Atwater St. in Bridgeport, was pronounced dead at the scene. Larranaga-Marquez and his uncle, Gerrardo Marquez-Hernandez, 45, of 169 Scofield Ave. in Bridgeport were power-washing a house at 65 Point Beach Drive when the accident occurred at about 6:30 p.m., police said.
Marquez-Hernandez was transported to Bridgeport Hospital's burn unit for serious, but nonlife-threatening injuries, said Officer Jeff Nielsen, the Milford police spokesman. He was reported to be in fair, stable condition Wednesday afternoon by a hospital spokesman.
Representatives of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the United Illuminating Co. are continuing the investigation.
"Our safety department is working with OSHA, and the message is that safety is the most important thing, not only for our employees, but for the public," UI spokesman Al Carbone said.
Carbone and Capt. Chris Zak, spokesman for the Milford Fire Department, said ladders being used by the men came in contact with the service line from the utility pole to the house, carrying 200 amps of electricity.
"That's all it takes,or even less, to kill you, depending on how the electricity affects your heart," Zak said. City firefighters also use aluminum ladders, but have it drilled into them during the 15-week training "to check overhead for any obstructions before you put up a ladder," he said.
Carbone said that UI recommends that property owners stay at least 10 feet away from power lines, even the feeder lines to their homes. "It might look like the wire is coated or insulated, or you may think that it is not live, but you should never assume that it is safe," he said.
Homeowner Michael Pinto was not at home when the accident happened, but returned at about 10:30 p.m. "About 85 people called me, and my brother is a cop in Stratford, so I heard about it," he said.
Pinto would not identify the company that he'd hired to do the work, which he described as "regular spring maintenance."
"I don't want to do that to them; it is a reputable, well-known Milford company," Pinto said. Although some neighbors reported that the power was knocked out by the accident, Pinto said none of the clocks in the house was blinking when he returned. "We lose power a lot down here, from the wind, and that's the first thing you look for."
Carbone confirmed that the Point Beach neighborhood did not have electricity disrupted by the accident. "They may have seen a flicker, felt a blip at contact, but that would have been it," the UI spokesman said.
The two men involved in the accident had begun work Tuesday afternoon, and were water-blasting under the eaves at the front of the house, to correct an area where the varnish had peeled, neighbor Mike Brown said.
"From what I was told, they didn't lower the aluminum ladders they were working on, but just leaned them back, and the ladders came in contact with the high wire above the house," Brown said.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article...washing-Milford-home-508544.php#ixzz1uPf0IPYy
