Burleson

Critically injured tower worker rescued; power restored in Burleson

Three workers were in the tower when a high-voltage power line was accidentally touched

NBC Universal, Inc.

A cell tower worker in Burleson was critically injured Friday after accidentally coming into contact with a high-voltage power line. NBC 5’s Candace Sweat reports.

A man working on a cell phone tower in Burleson was critically injured Friday after officials say they accidentally came into contact with a high-voltage power line.

Burleson Fire Chief Casey Davis said three workers were on a cell tower on the 800 block of North Burleson Boulevard when they called for help at 11:50 a.m., saying someone had been shocked.

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Davis said when firefighters began an emergency rescue operation, one worker had already climbed down, and they were able to assist another off the tower. The third worker, however, could not be immediately removed due to injury.

So that the rescue could continue safely, Oncor turned off power at the substation at about 1 p.m. The disruption cut off power to about 5,000 customers until they could reroute power to different lines. As of 3 p.m., Oncor said only about 100 customers remain without electricity.

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High angle rescue at Burleson cell phone tower Friday afternoon

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John Barry II

High Angle Rescue this afternoon in Burleson off of I-35.

As of 3:30 p.m., firefighters had secured the man into a harness and lowered him to a fire department ladder truck below.

Davis said due to the nature of the man's injury and his exposure to wind and cold, he was considered to be in critical condition. Davis said the worker was conscious and talking with firefighters and that the firefighters taking part in the rescue were EMTs who could assess his condition while the rescue was underway.

Davis said the worker's condition was promising, and he was taken by ambulance to a burn facility.

The cell tower is inside the perimeter of a substation along northbound Interstate 35W between Burly Corporation and AutoNation Ford Burleson.

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