Kurt Bresswein
The Express-Times
(TNS)
One of two men working onboard a lift that contacted power lines Wednesday in Allentown was shocked and hospitalized in critical condition, according to the city fire department.
Firefighters along with city police and paramedics responded to the late-morning incident at North 12th and Webster streets, just north of Linden Street.
The two workers were in the lift three stories up when it made contact with the electrical lines, shocking one of the men, city fire Capt. Jon Hammel told lehighvalleylive.com.
PPL Electric Utilities responded quickly and cut power to the area, according to Hammel.
Dana Burns, spokesperson for the Allentown-based utility provider, confirmed that individuals not affiliated with the company came into contact with an electric line.
“The line has been de-energized and our crews are assisting emergency responders,” Burns said by email. “Our thoughts are with the individuals involved.”
More than 700 customers were without power as of early Wednesday afternoon, according to the PPL Outage Map.
“Power will be restored once first responders confirm it is safe,” Burns said.
Firefighters tried to manually lower the lift but it wasn’t functioning, so they set up on the roof of the home and used Truck 2’s aerial to rescue the men, according to Hammel.
Both were conscious.
“We had contact with them the whole time until we were able to get up there and actually effect the rescue,” Hammel said.
One man suffered significant burns and was listed in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, according to the fire captain. The other man was taken to the hospital to be evaluated.
Road closures continued into the afternoon in the area of the incident to allow for restoration of power service and removal of the lift, Hammel said.
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