# Tree Trimmer Electrocuted



## TreemanFJR (Aug 29, 2006)

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_231144721.html

(STNG) CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. A Carpentersville man was in critical condition after sustaining an electrical shock while trimming a tree in his backyard over the weekend.

Antonio Valencia, 43, was caught by rigging lines following the jolt and hung from the tree until firefighters could bring him down.

The incident occurred around 2:07 p.m. in the 400 block of Amarillo Drive, also causing sections of the village to lose their power for the second time this week.

Sixteen-year-old Sandra Parra said the room she was in turned bright orange as she felt her house surge with the power failure.

But as residents of Amarillo Drive went outside their houses, the smell of burnt wire and the sound of firetrucks let them know this was not an ordinary power outage.

Village Fire Chief John Schuldt said his department received a call that someone was hanging from a tree in his backyard.

Schuldt said it was quickly determined that Valencia had accidentally shocked himself while working about 30 feet off the ground. The only things keeping the man from falling were the yellow and white rigging ropes Valencia had tied to the tree for support.

Over the past two days, Valencia, who owns a tree trimming and landscape company in Carpentersville, had been climbing and trimming the 40-foot tree in his backyard because he didn't like it and wanted it down, said neighbor Bob Reichenbach.

Reichenbach, who called the police, had been watching Valencia's trimming work from his backyard, which runs against Valencia's backyard. He said he was nervous about what might happen because Valencia had no one to assist him.

Reichenbach said that on Friday afternoon, Valencia was attempting to cut limbs from his tree that ran close to, and sometimes on top of, power lines in the back of the house.

"I was just watching him in case," Reichenbach said. "He looked like a monkey up there just lost in the wires."

It's a good thing he was watching.

Reichenbach said he saw Valencia chop one limb with a machete and that it dropped onto the power line underneath while remaining attached to the tree. Immediately, the tree caught fire and the power surge from the line began to energize the tree, shocking Valencia, Reichenbach said.

Reichenbach saw Valencia go limp for a few moments but that he soon regained consciousness and was in much pain.

Valencia's wife, Eva, heard the screams, left her three children in their house and tried to climb the ladder that was against the tree to help her husband.

Firefighters quickly arrived and drew her to safety away from the energized tree.

Schuldt called ComEd to alert it to the situation and request help in bringing Valencia down. However, Schuldt said, ComEd replied that it could not get there for 30-45 minutes.

So firefighters quickly hoisted a ladder carriage up to Valencia, attached a rescue harness to him and the carriage, and gently lowered him to the ground. As that process took place, workers — aided by an interpreter — were able to calm Valencia, who was trying to get down himself.

Firefighters got him down not a moment too soon.

"I am so proud of these guys. When we were first trying to help him, he kept saying he was going to jump because he was in so much pain," Schuldt said. "He just couldn't stand it anymore."

Once he reached the ground, Valencia fell unconscious. He was taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin, where Schuldt said he was in critical condition with serious burns.

Neighbors retreated back into their houses whispering sighs of relief that Valencia was still alive. However, their homes were darkened by a loss of power from the incident.

The tree branch falling on the wire knocked out power in the neighborhood because it caused additional wires to lose tension, resulting in three small tree fires, authorities said. Four hours after the accident, the neighborhood was still without electricity. Schuldt said ComEd was out repairing wires and restoring power but did not have an estimate of when power would be restored.

(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)


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## l2edneck (Aug 29, 2006)

Holy crap he is very lucky.I know from first hand exp. that that crap is no joke.I did jump when it happened to me.Very scary s#it.Gives me chills just to read it.I hope he pulls out of it ok.Prayers to him and his family.

Just another thread for safety and pls,pls let the utility company get it.


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