A Seminole County (Florida) public works employee was killed when a sidewalk collapsed and 3 firefighters were injured during their rescue efforts this morning.
Seminole County Fire Chief Otto Drozd said when Firefighters arrived, a vacuum truck was removing water from the hole where the person was stuck but then it was shut off so that Firefighters could begin their rescue efforts. The man was a worker from the county’s environmental services department who was working on a water main leak within the trench when the accident happened.
The Firefighters got in the hole trying to extricate the patient with the jaws of life to lift the sidewalk, that’s when the hole was electrically charged, electrocuting the three firefighters, causing some injuries that were later evaluated at the hospital. The Firefighters were electrocuted when they got into the hole, which was located next to an electrical transformer. Due to the nature of the collapse, the ground and sand were constantly shifting and water was filling up the hole.
3 Firefighters involved in the confined space rescue were taken to an area hospital to be treated for possible electrical shock and are all conscious, alert and in stable condition.
HERE ARE PHOTOS from the scene:
https://www.wftv.com/news/photos/photos-county-worker/WXXVENELERAI7MZDBRXGUKXDIY/