Man shocked while putting up holiday lights revived by first responders

By Logan Hall

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    WELLESLEY, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A man was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning after he was shocked while putting up holiday lights in a Wellesley, Massachusetts neighborhood.

It happened outside a home on Falmouth Circle at around 10 a.m. The victim was a contractor hired by a resident to put up holiday lights and he was installing them on a large tree at the time. Police said the man was using a bucket truck to string the lights when it came in either close or direct contact with a primary electrical line on top of a utility pole. The 911 caller reported the man was unconscious and not breathing and appeared to have suffered a seizure. The police dispatcher then provided the caller with CPR instructions.

Police described the electrical shock as life-threatening.

First responders arrived on the scene and found one of the man’s co-workers performing CPR. Police took over the CPR and cleared the area since they were unsure what had shocked the man at first. Firefighters then arrived and a defibrillator was used to revive the man, who regained a pulse. He was taken by ambulance to Newton Wellesley Hospital for treatment at first before being transferred to Mass General Hospital in Boston. Police said he remains in critical condition Wednesday night.

OSHA was contacted and is now investigating the incident, along with Wellesley Police and the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant. The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant did a safety check of the utility pole and determined there was no danger to the public.

No further information is available at this time.

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