Power Line Electrocutes Fireman at House Fire
LOS GATOS, Calif. — A captain with the Santa Clara County Fire Department died early Sunday after being electrocuted by a power line at a house fire.
Capt. Mark McCormack’s on-duty death was the first in the department’s 58-year history, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the scene about 2:20 a.m. Sunday. Six residents were at home and escaped uninjured, officials said. As McCormack helped fight the blaze, he touched a live electrical wire. He was treated at the scene and pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital.
The Fire Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating the cause of the blaze and McCormack’s death.
McCormack, 36, had been with the department since June 1999. He was promoted to captain in December.
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