A Martin County Parks and Recreation employee received an electrical shock Monday morning while trimming low-hanging branches as part of post-Hurricane Matthew cleanup, according to a county spokesperson.
The man, 47, was using a chainsaw that touched power lines, the county said.
It happened near SE Field Street in New Monrovia Park, according to the sheriff's office.
Witnesses calling 911 were in disbelief over what they were seeing.
“He was cutting the tree and he’s on fire. He can’t hardly even move," one 911 caller said.
The man, a 3-year parks employee, was working in a lift when he touched a power line and was seriously burned.
The incident happened in front of other parks employees.
“Today that staff is receiving counseling based on what they saw. Very traumatic incident and our thoughts and prayers are with our employee,” Martin County Spokeswoman Gabby Ferraro said.
Ferraro says immediately after the incident, the county parks team gathered to go over safety procedures. “Brought in their entire staff from the field and brought them in to our parks’ field ops division and sat them down and had a conversation about safety protocols especially in the wake of storms and in the recovery of storms.”
The worker, who was conscious and breathing when emergency crews arrived, suffered burns and was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, the county said.
