CEDAR RAPIDS – An Iowa man was trimming trees in a storm-ravaged area and electrocuted by a 7,200 volt power line, authorities say.
Firefighters and police officers in Cedar Rapids were dispatched to a possible electrocution incident in the 800 block of 17th Street SE at 4:48 PM on Saturday, August 29. First responders arrived on scene and found that a 22-year-old male was on the platform of a portable lift and had made contact with an overhead electrical power line. The victim was apparently using the lift to trim trees.
The victim was still conscious and directed to stay on the platform of the portable lift until Alliant Energy arrived on scene and de-energized the affected power lines in contact with the lift. After power was disconnected, firefighters moved the victim from the portable lift platform to the bucket at the end of the aerial ladder on the Fire Department’s ladder truck.
The victim was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The power line that was contacted was apparently a 7,200 volt electrical line.
Cedar Rapids was among the hardest-hit areas in Iowa after a derecho pummeled a huge swath of the Hawkeye state with winds up to and above 100 miles per hour. Roofs were torn off, signs bent, power knocked out and trees ravaged. There is a tree trimming professional Long Beach.
