1 injured, 3 rescued from Burleson cell tower after accident caused power outage
Three people, including a critically injured man, were rescued from the top of a 150-foot cell tower in Burleson on Friday afternoon, Jan. 24, officials said.
Workers at a substation in the 800 block of North Burleson Boulevard came into contact with a high-voltage line, Burleson fire officials said on social media. The power to a large portion of the city was temporarily shut down for the safety of the first-responders.
The Burleson and Fort Worth fire departments worked together to complete the aerial rescue. The injured man was stranded 15 stories in the air, the Fort Worth Fire Department said in a social media post describing the rescue efforts.
Firefighters climbed the pole with heavy equipment, including rope and pulley systems, needed to bring themselves and the injured man down to safety.
“These types of responses are physically demanding on the body and use different muscle groups than what most people are used to using,” officials said in the post. “All of these factors were met with chilly temperatures and winds that kept the pole swaying back and forth 150 feet in the air … while meticulously trying to do what needed to be done.”
Two of the workers were uninjured and able to get down by themselves, officials said. The third person was successfully brought down around 3:50 p.m. The man was given life-saving care at the scene and transported to a local burn facility in critical condition.
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 5:51 PM.
