Retired Electrician is Burned Working on Panel in Church

A retired electrician was burned on his face and hands Monday in an electrical accident at a church in Peoria, Ill. He was working on the church’s main electrical panel when he apparently came into contact with energized conductors.

The Journal Star reported that firefighters arrived at the El Vista Baptist Church at about 4:40 p.m. and found the church’s gymnasium filled with smoke. The church did not sustain structural damage, but the smoke caused $90,000 damage to the gymnasium and church’s main electrical panel.

The injured man, a retired electrician, met firefighters outside the church. He said he was trying to restore electricity in the building after the power went out.