Electrocuted Man 'Dies,' Saved By CPR and Paramedics

ROCKVILLE, MD — An electrician who was electrocuted by high-voltage lines on the job had no heartbeat for five minutes, but survived thanks to quick action by his co-workers and then Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services paramedics, authorities say. The potentially fatal accident happened Wednesday at a building in the 9200 block of Corporate Boulevard.

The electrician's coworkers kicked his ladder to break contact with the electrical source without anyone else being injured, EMS staffers said. “The biggest thing that they did for him was to kick the ladder out from underneath of him so he could fall to the ground,” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Lt. Daniel Ballantine said.

By the time the ambulance crew arrived, the man had not had a heartbeat for at least five minutes, so the paramedics used their automated defibrillator to deliver the shock needed to get his heart beating again. The victim was taken to Shady Grove Medical Center, where he was treated.

»See NBC Washington's interview with the paramedic crew.