High Voltage Kills One, Injures Another At Meeting House

By Andrew Gorosko

In what is being called “a tragic accident,” one painter was killed by electrocution and another painter was seriously burned about 4 pm Monday, July 26, when a 35-foot-long aluminum ladder they were handling made contact with an 8,000-volt live power line on the south side of The Meeting House at 31 Main Street.

Dead is Ivan Patricio Tenecela-Velez, 25, of Port Chester, N.Y. Mr Tenecela-Velez was pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital, where he was transported by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps during corps’ members efforts to revive him after the accident.

Following an autopsy, the state medical examiner’s office on July 28 confirmed that Mr Tenecela-Velez died due to accidental electrocution.

Victor Saquisela, 21, also of Port Chester, was a patient in fair condition in the Bridgeport Hospital burn unit on the afternoon of July 28. An ambulance had transported Mr Saquisela to Danbury Hospital, after which he was transferred to Bridgeport Hospital that evening for advanced burn care.

The two men, who were originally from Ecuador, were among a work crew that was completing a repainting project on the eastern face the Meeting House exterior, a town-owned structure, which formerly served as the Newtown Congregational Church. The landmark building stands at the intersection of Main Street and West Street, adjacent to the Main Street flagpole.

Police, fire, and ambulance personnel responded to the Meeting House following a 3:55 pm call that inaccurately reported that two workers had fallen off a ladder. Campbell Quality Painting, LLC, of Weston, which is headed by Pete Campbell, was doing the repainting project, police said. Mr Campbell reportedly was not at the Meeting House when the accident occurred, but arrived soon thereafter.

Mr Campbell could not be reached for comment.

Donald Studley is the president of the Historic Preservation Trust of Newtown, Inc, a nonprofit organization that leases the Meeting House from the town at a nominal cost. The trust operates and maintains the building.

“It was a terrible tragedy. I was certainly saddened by it…We’re saddened by the whole incident. It was a tragic accident,” Mr Studley said.

Mr Studley said the trust contracted with Mr Campbell earlier this month to repaint the side of the Meeting House that faces Main Street.

Police Sergeant Douglas Wisentaner said, “The incident is under investigation, but it appears at this time [that] two of the workers were taking down an aluminum extension ladder on the south side of the building. The ladder made contact with the power lines that run along West Street, near the building.”

As the two men were moving the 35-foot-long ladder, which had been resting on the south side of the building, the ladder made contact with a nearby 8,000-volt primary power line that is positioned 32 feet above the ground. That uninsulated power line carries electricity along West Street.

When a metal object such as a ladder comes into contact with a high-voltage power line, the ladder becomes electrified, transmitting that voltage to anyone in contact with the ladder.

Shortly after the call for help, ambulance corps members appeared at the grim scene, attending to the two men who were lying on their backs on a lawn adjacent to the Meeting House.

A swarm of emergency staffers quickly appeared in seeking to revive the two men with cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

As the scene unfolded, the tall metal ladder lay askew, leaning westward on the southern face of the building.

After the two stricken men were transported to Danbury Hospital, police interviewed several other painters who were on the job at the time of the incident. Police had difficulty communicating because the workmen spoke Spanish. Police also had difficulty establishing the identities of the two injured men because they did not carry typical identification. A Spanish-speaking Bethel police officer was called to the scene to serve as interpreter.

Police summoned the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate the incident as an industrial accident. Also, police called the Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) for help.

After arriving at the Meeting House about an hour after the accident, OSHA inspector Jeff Ritter photographed the scene and took notes, compiling information. OSHA investigates such accidents and has the authority to levy administrative penalties.

On July 27, Kim Austin, a supervisor in OSHA’s Bridgeport office, declined comment on the accident. “We can’t discuss an open investigation,” she said. OSHA has not determined the cause of the accident, she said. The agency has up to six months to complete such investigations, she added.

OSHA’s website on the Internet contains a section entitled, “Preventing Electrocutions of Workers Using Portable Metal Ladders Near Overhead Power Lines.” The section provides information on how such accidental deaths have occurred and how they may be prevented from happening. It appears that the actions that led to the July 26 accident violated federal safety regulations.

CL&P spokesman Chris Riley said, “Safety is our first and highest priority.” Mr Riley declined to discuss the accident at the Meeting House, but spoke of such electrical hazards in general.

CL&P provides electrical safety aid to contractors, including the free placement of protective electrical insulators over power lines, and the free shutdown of power lines, when requested, he said. CL&P publishes information on electrical safety for contractors, he said.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe termed the Meeting House incident a “tragic accident.” Police will be turning over information they collected at the accident scene to OSHA for use in its investigation, he said.