JUNE 11, 2015
ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C.
Upstate fire officials rescued a man whose construction
bucket caught fire while working on a Domino's Pizza sign Wednesday.
Vandiver told WYFF News4 he was passing the Domino's Pizza
on Highway 24 just after 6 p.m. when he spotted a man clinging to the top of
the pole and the Domino's Pizza sign engulfed in flames.
That man talked to WYFF News 4 and said it was his
construction bucket that was in flames.
Kevin Putman, 44, of Taylors, said he is happy to be alive
after clinging for his life 50 feet in the air on Highway 24.
Putman said he had been working on removing the Domino's
Pizza sign for most of the day using cutting torches in his construction
bucket.
"I felt heat to my back, I turned around and my
controls were on fire," Putman said.
Putman said that's when he went into panic mode.
"My wheels started turning. I threw my torches out of
the bucket, I went to use my controls and they were bubbling," Putman
said.
The hydraulic hoses had already busted and fuel was going
everywhere, creating an extremely flammable environment. Putman said that's
when he had to make a decision.
"Only place I had to go was jump or climb, so I
climbed." Putman said.
The Anderson County Fire Department was able to bring Putman
to the ground about 45 minutes later.
Putman said the fire burned the bottom of his shoes and the
hair on his legs, but, after 25 years in the business, he is thankful for the
firefighters who rescued him and to be alive.
The man climbed to the top of the sign to escape