Dramatic rescue in Burnaby; vehicle hits power pole, driver avoids being electrocuted

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – He did everything right to keep himself and crews safe. Burnaby Fire Rescue says a man is alive after getting into a nasty rollover crash that ended with a Hydro line lying on his car.

The call came in at around 9:15 p.m. A car had hit a light standard and then the guide wire from a telephone pole.

Crews arrived at Canada Way and Sperling Ave. to find a man trapped inside his vehicle, which was rolled on its side

“The guide wire from the power pole was jammed into the car — attached to the car,” David Younger, acting assistant chief with the Burnaby Fire Department said. “There had been quite a bit of arcing before we got on scene.”

Younger says anytime there’s a risk of live electricity at a crash scene, you should stay inside your vehicle.

“Don’t leave your vehicle … If you’re a different ground than the car is, the second you leave the car, you get electrocuted.”

Crews had to get creative to communicate with the person inside the vehicle.

“The crews used a whiteboard and gave him a phone number and he phoned our crews and told them of his injuries and all that kind of stuff. So, we actually had quite an update from him — from inside the car, through the cellphone,” Younger said.

Once they ensured the power was off, crews cut off the roof of his car to free him.

“Entered through the back window, broke the window, secured the patient, then removed the roof from the car, and then removed the patient from the car on a backboard.”

The man was taken to the hospital, but the details of his injuries are unknown.

 – With files from Adam Cooper

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