Pitt Meadows firefighters responded to the electrocution of two workers after a ladder came into contact with wires, Wednesday afternoon, just after 1 p.m.
Several paramedic crews were dispatched to the scene in the 19900-block of Fraser Way in south Pitt Meadows. WorkSafe BC has also been notified of the incident.
BC Emergency Health Services said that their advanced life support crews transported two patients to hospital in serious condition.
Deputy fire chief Brad Perrie said later that two roofers were packing up from the site when their ladder got too close to high-voltage power lines, carrying 25,000 volts.
He said it’s possible that the ladder may have just got too close to the wires, without actually contacting the wires, and current arched over to the ladder.
“I think that they were aware of the lines, I just think that somehow, they got a little bit too close and when you get into that zone, it can arch across.” But he said he was just speculating and that there will be a full investigation.
Read more: Man killed at Vancouver construction site in possible electrocution
Perrie said the two men in their 40s had contact burns but were conscious when taken to Royal Columbian Hospital.
“So, we believe they’re non-life-threatening injuries, until they get evaluated at Royal Columbian,” Perrie said, although it’s possible they could also have internal injuries. “I just know that they did receive a good jolt, and they were probably pretty lucky.”
He said that witnesses said it’s possible the men were unconscious for a short time before firefighters arrived.
The incident is also a good reminder to be careful with ladders and to look up before you raise a ladder, he added.
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