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Burnaby firefighters cut man from crashed car that ended up on its side draped with a power line

Burnaby firefighters and a man trapped inside a crashed car with a live power line lying on top of it used some creative communication to avert tragedy Sunday night.
fire truck

Burnaby firefighters and a man trapped inside a crashed car with a live power line lying on top of it used some creative communication to avert tragedy Sunday night.

The Chevy Cruze had ended up on its side with the live wire lying on it after slamming into a lamp standard and a hydro pole on Canada Way by Sperling Avenue, according assistant fire Chief Barry Mawhinney.

“Persons on scene saw lots of sparking,” he told the NOW.

The fire department got the call at about 9:15 p.m. but had to wait for BC Hydro to shut down power to the line before they could rescue the male driver.

“If the person stepped out of the car and they got one foot on the ground and one foot in the car, the electricity is going to go through them to the ground, and they’re going to get electrocuted,” Mawhinney said. “That’s why you don’t want to leave the vehicle if you’ve got wires down on top of your car.”

Firefighters signalled to the man to stay inside the vehicle. They then scribbled the Engine 1 cellphone number on a whiteboard for him to call so his injuries could be assessed, Mawhinney said.

After the electricity was shut off, firefighters had to cut off the top of the car to get the driver out.

He was taken to hospital, but Mawhinney couldn’t provide details about his injuries.