22.08.2014

Fire fighters injured

Four firemen were injured yesterday when their platform came too close to overhead power lines in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

The fire-fighters had been helping the Campbellsville University band do an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video on Thursday, by spraying water on them from above. (ALS=Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease).
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The firefighters had been helping with an ALS Challenge 'Ice Bucket video'

The video was completed and the students had mostly dispersed, when the two firemen in the platform, captain Tony Grider, 41, and fire-fighter Simon Quinn, 22, began to retract the ladder platform and came within arcing distance of the power lines. The two men received severe shocks and had to be rushed to the burns unit of a local hospital where one is in critical condition, while the other is reportedly fair.

Two other fire-fighters, captain Steve Marrs, 37, and Alex Johnson, 28, were standing alongside the platform and were also shocked when they tried to use the lower controls to bring the platform down. They were taken to hospital where Marrs was released and Johnson admitted for further observation.
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The scene after the event

The Ice Bucket Challenge aims to raise awareness and money to fight the disease and has so far raised almost $42 million.

UPDATE
One month after this incident Tony Grider died, while Simon Quinn was released from hospital to continue his recuperation at home.