Man nailing sign to utility pole burned
Wednesday, November 15, 2006By Ken Kolker
The Grand Rapids Press GRAND RAPIDS -- A man suffered burns to his face and hands early today when he struck an electrical wire while nailing a sign to a utility pole.
The small explosion outside Shell Food Mart at 28th Street SE and Breton Avenue knocked out power to about 6,500 customers in the area, delaying classes at two schools and forcing a Meijer store to use backup generators for electricity.
Shell manager Floyd Slater said he ran outside to help the man after his cashier saw the explosion about 6:30 a.m.
Slater said he patted down the man's smoldering hair and used a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire on the utility pole. The man was taken by ambulance to Spectrum Health Blodgett Campus in East Grand Rapids.
Power was reported out from East Grand Rapids to the 28th Street Meijer store at Kalamazoo Avenue. It led to delays at East Grand Rapids' Breton Downs Elementary School and Grand Rapids Christian High School.
It appears the man pounded the nail through a main power line, protected by a plastic cover, that climbs the wooden pole, Consumers Energy spokesman Timothy Pietryga said. Workers found a nail hole in the cover. The line carries power from underground to the overhead distribution system, Pietryga said.
Within two hours, electricity was restored to nearly half the customers, while the rest were to get power by midmorning, Pietryga said.
