SEATTLE, Wash. – In Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, an electrical line worker found himself in a precarious situation after accidentally hitting a powerline while in a boom lift. The incident left him stranded dozens of feet in the air.
Debora, a local resident, described the moment it happened. “I’m just sitting drinking a cup of coffee and I hear this really loud boom,” she said.
Neighbors were forced from their homes as hazmat and rescue teams arrived on the scene. Lane, another witness, saw the flames. “I happened to look out the window and I could see that flames were shooting up pretty high,” he said.
The Seattle Fire Department explained that the incident started when the lift collided with the powerlines, causing a fire. David, a local, noted, “somehow it ignited the fuel lines of the lift itself.”
Fuel spilled onto Queen Anne Avenue, prompting a massive response. Seattle City Light de-energized the powerlines, but a natural gas line was also hit, adding to the hazards. Puget Sound Energy secured the gas line.
Before rescuing the worker, crews needed to extinguish the flames. “The foam is a suppressant to prevent the spread of the fuel that is on fire on the ground,” David said.
The street appeared covered in foam, resembling waist-high snow. After two hours, rescue teams successfully brought the man down safely. Fire officials confirmed he was unharmed.
