Santa Rosa Man Suffers Significant Burns After Fall From PG&E Tower
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A man suffered significant burns and trauma after he fell from a PG&E transmission tower Tuesday in Santa Rosa, according to Santa Rosa fire officials.
At 1:46 p.m., fire crews responded to a report of a man that fell from a power pole and started a grass fire next to 56 W. Sixth St. near the Prince Memorial Greenway and Santa Rosa Creek.
At the scene, fire crews found the man on the ground near the 100-foot tall PG&E transmission tower.
Witnesses told fire officials that the man was near the bottom cross arm, approximately 80 feet up the tower, when he was shocked and fell to the ground, landing on dry grass that caught fire.
According to fire officials, witnesses pulled him from the burning grass and used fire extinguishers to stop the blaze, which burned an area about 20 feet in diameter.
The victim suffered significant burns and trauma and was treated at the scene before he was taken to a local trauma center. He was then flown by air ambulance to the University of California at Davis for further care, fire officials said.
About 2,200 people were temporarily affected by a short power outage.
According to fire officials, someone climbed the same tower in March, prompting PG&E to add additional barriers to prevent people from climbing it.
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