SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
A crane operator was blown
out of his seat and nearby homes were evacuated after a truck-mounted
crane hit high-voltage power lines and burst into flames Thursday
morning in West Seattle.
Firefighters responded to the scene, in the 4700 block of SW Andover Street, at about 8:20 a.m. after receiving multiple reports of a crane fire.
The plume of smoke from the fire could be clearly seen from Queen Anne and other Seattle vantage points as it flared up.
When crews arrived, flames were shooting 15 to 20 feet into the air, and the fire had spread from the crane to a nearby fence.
All homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution as firefighters doused the flames with foam and dodged live high-voltage lines that surrounded the crane.
Fire officials said the crane operator was installing trusses in a residential structure when his boom hit 26,000-volt power lines. The surge of electricity traveled through the boom, igniting the crane’s tires and then the crane itself.
The operator was blown out of his seat and off the rig. Medics evaluated him but he did not suffer any burns or any visible injuries.
No one else was injured.
Firefighters responded to the scene, in the 4700 block of SW Andover Street, at about 8:20 a.m. after receiving multiple reports of a crane fire.
The plume of smoke from the fire could be clearly seen from Queen Anne and other Seattle vantage points as it flared up.
When crews arrived, flames were shooting 15 to 20 feet into the air, and the fire had spread from the crane to a nearby fence.
All homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution as firefighters doused the flames with foam and dodged live high-voltage lines that surrounded the crane.
Fire officials said the crane operator was installing trusses in a residential structure when his boom hit 26,000-volt power lines. The surge of electricity traveled through the boom, igniting the crane’s tires and then the crane itself.
The operator was blown out of his seat and off the rig. Medics evaluated him but he did not suffer any burns or any visible injuries.
No one else was injured.