(METAIRIE, La) Scaffold-building crew injured when metal meets high-voltage power lines

METAIRIE, La —
Six construction workers were rushed to University Medical Center by ambulance Thursday after the scaffolding they were building outside of a Metairie hotel hit a high-voltage electrical line.

According to Fire Chief Dave Tibbetts, the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department in Jefferson Parish responded to the Hampton Inn on North Causeway just before 10 a.m. He said the workers suffered burn injuries, and one of the men had to be rescued from the scaffolding, which he said was about four stories high. At the time, Tibbetts said power to 5,000 Entergy Louisiana customers was temporarily knocked out because of the shock.METAIRIE, La —
Six construction workers were rushed to University Medical Center by ambulance Thursday after the scaffolding they were building outside of a Metairie hotel hit a high-voltage electrical line.

According to Fire Chief Dave Tibbetts, the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department in Jefferson Parish responded to the Hampton Inn on North Causeway just before 10 a.m. He said the workers suffered burn injuries, and one of the men had to be rescued from the scaffolding, which he said was about four stories high. At the time, Tibbetts said power to 5,000 Entergy Louisiana customers was temporarily knocked out because of the shock.



The remaining crew members, who were not harmed, said they had previously refused to build the scaffolding on the side of the hotel because of the close proximity of the high-voltage lines, but they had been assured by Entergy and the hotel that the power had been cut so that the renovation could continue.

Kellie Kulivan, human resources director for the Metairie Hampton Inn, said the hotel is investigating why the line was live when the scaffolding was being built.

“We are still investigating all of that. I don’t have any details on all of that and we are investigating it,” Kulivan said.

A spokesperson for Entergy Louisiana refused to say whether or not the line was supposed to be live. Instead, Michael Burns, with Entergy Louisiana, sent the following statement: “We are aware of the incident. At this time we are conducting an internal investigation and working closely with local authorities.”

Tibbetts said the work being done at the Hampton Inn was all permitted, but he directed all questions about the status of the electrical lines to Entergy. He said the Fire Department is investigating the incident.LINK