MADISON, Wis.
--
An electrician working at a building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus was taken to a hospital after being shocked.
Madison firefighters said they were called to the UW Humanities Building at about 4:15 p.m. for a reported electrocution of a worker.
The Madison Fire Department said the worker was injured in an attic-like space above the concert hall stage, making rescue efforts challenging.
"When we arrived, we found that the area in which this patient was only accessible by ladder. It was a very small entryway, about 4-by-4 square feet," said Lori Wirth, spokeswoman for the Madison Fire Department.
Firefighters and paramedics scaled the ladders to attend to the injured worker, and the Heavy Rescue Team was called to assist in retrieving the worker. Crews set up a ropes system to lower the worker down.
"We did have paramedics who went up to the attic space and tended to the patient while this ropes system was being set up. At that point, we had to lower him vertically, kind of in a stand-up position, but we put him in a harness and lowered him slowly with firefighters on top and bottom," Wirth said.
Officials said the worker was taken to UW Hospital. His condition was unknown as of Tuesday night.
Wirth said the HURT team is trained to respond to a variety of emergencies that include confined space, trench collapse and building collapse rescues.
The incident temporarily closed Park Street from University Avenue to Langdon Street. It was reopened Tuesday evening.
The Humanities Building is home to the UW School of Music and several other departments.
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