VIDEO: A cherry picker struck a power line in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood Wednesday morning, sparking an explosion and a natural gas fire that forced building evacuations and trapped a crane operator. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. during a window installation project at a local apartment building. Dozens of firefighters responded to the scene to contain the fire, which took several hours to extinguish as Puget Sound Energy crews worked to stabilize a ruptured gas line.
“When the vehicle, the lift itself, made contact with the power lines, it ignited the fuel line of the vehicle. That fire then spread to a natural gas line directly below on the sidewalk,” David Cuerpo of the Seattle Fire Department explained of how the fire started. A sea of biodegradable foam was sprayed throughout the streets to prevent the natural gas fire from spreading to neighboring structures.
Residents in the area reported seeing flames shoot into the air shortly after the initial contact. The operator of the lift was trapped for nearly three hours. Firefighters were unable to reach the operator until Seattle City Light crews de-energized the high-voltage power lines. While the operator was not injured, the rescue required specialized units to manage the various hazards at the scene.
