May 30--An 11-year-old Salina girl was in critical condition in intensive care at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis Thursday afternoon after she received an electrical shock while playing in the rain on Campbell Plaza Wednesday evening.
Lt. Scott Siemsen of the Salina Police Department said the girl was found lying on two in-ground electrical junction boxes at the front of the plaza in the 100 block of South Santa Fe Avenue when emergency responders arrived after receiving the call at 6:46 p.m.
A firefighter and other children who had been playing with her were treated at Salina Regional Health Center for less serious electrical shock injuries suffered when they tried to assist her, said Fire Marshal Roger Williams.
Williams said firefighters were able to remove the girl with the use of a Pike pole, a long pole with a hook on the end that has a Fiberglas handle. He said the girl was not breathing and had no pulse when firefighters retrieved her, and they could not use the electrical shock paddles to revive her at the scene because she was wet.
He said firefighters performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation as she was being transported to the hospital, where her pulse was restored.
Siemsen said the girl was considered stable at Via Christi Thursday morning, but he did not have further information about her condition. He declined to publicly release her name.
He said a total of five children had been playing at Campbell Plaza -- two boys and three girls.
Williams said the investigation into how the girl was shocked is ongoing. He said the city electrician and Westar representatives were evaluating the wiring contained in the junction boxes, which he said are designed to be weather-proof.
Thursday some downtown lights, including traffic control lights in three locations downtown, were not working. Williams said he did not know if those lights received power through the boxes or if electricity downtown was turned off during the investigation.
"Our thoughts and prayers definitely go out to the family, and most definitely to the little girl," Williams said.
Read more about the incident in Friday's Journal.
Copyright 2013 - The Salina Journal, Kan.
