CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — A Florida man was injured Thursday after he was jolted by an electric shock while attempting to rescue parrots perched on a utility pole, authorities said.
The 25-year-old man was using a pole in an effort to reach the birds in Coral Springs when he touched a power line, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The man suffered second- and third-degree burns to 50% of his body, Coral Springs Fire Rescue spokesperson Michael Mosner told the newspaper.
“Electrocutions deliver such high energy that the injuries mimic an actual burn,” Mosner told the Sun-Sentinel. “He had burns the same way someone would have if they were caught in a house fire. The injuries are identical.”
The incident occurred around 5:45 a.m., WPLG reported.
“He was torched from head to toe, so his skin was peeling off,” Ruben Gonzalez, who works at a Walmart located near the utility pole, told the television station.
The man was not identified by authorities, but Reanna Rai told WPLG that the victim was her brother, Nicholas Rai, 24, of Margate. She told the television station that her brother was in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
According to a GoFundMe page started by Reanna Rai, Nicholas Rai is the father of two children.
“He is a hard worker and such a loving, selfless man,” Reanna Rai wrote. “He would give you the clothes off his back if you needed them and now he is in need. He is in need of our prayers and our monetary support, so I am posting this and reaching out; praying that God meets me in the middle.”
As of Friday afternoon, more than $9,500 had been raised to cover medical expenses.
Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Rescue Asst. Chief Joe Skrumbellos told WPLG that the fiber pole used to remove the birds was vaporized and the victim was shocked. The pole was normally meant for landscaping and not for power lines, Skrumbellos told the television station.
“I overheard him say to the cops that he was trying to save birds from the power lines or something, and that’s what caused the explosion,” Gonzalez told WPLG.
Firefighters said Rai is lucky to be alive.
“The electrocution itself could have killed him,” Mosner told WPLG.