Crews responded to an electrical box fire in a garage of a home on the 900 block of Fort Worth at approximately 7:30 p.m. After assessing the incident, they decided to cut through a wall access the flames.
Glidewell was operating his chainsaw when he cut through the wall and into a conduit that had power still running through it. The shock sent 120 Volts of electricity through his body.
"We shut all the breakers off but some of them had fused together," he said. "I just got in too deep and it lit me up pretty good."
He never lost consciousness, but was knocked onto his back after being shocked.
"I felt it come up into my arms. A few seconds later I realized what happened. I started having trouble breathing and started hyperventilating."
He was transported by an ambulance to the East Texas Medical Center in Jacksonville and was treated and released a few hours later and was back at work today.
"It was divine intervention. Someone was watching out for me," he said. "It goes to show just how dangerous our jobs can be."
Paul Peluso | Staff Writer
Paul Peluso is a Firehouse.com staff writer and has worked for the Web site since 2006. Previously, he worked as a reporter for several community newspapers located in the suburbs of Baltimore, Md. Since joining the newsteam, Paul has covered various fire service issues including fire sprinklers, grants, line of duty deaths and technology. While he started out at the Beltsville, Md. office, he has since moved to Florida where he works out of his home office in Tampa.
