Veritas
02-14-2005, 03:24 PM
LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) -- A captain with the Santa Clara County Fire Department died early Sunday after being electrocuted by a power line at the scene of a house fire.
Capt. Mark McCormack's on-duty death was the first in the department's 58-year history, according to a statement.
Firefighters were called to the scene at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday. Six residents were at home and escaped uninjured, fire 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 an area 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 2004.
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=39&id=39300
Capt. Mark McCormack's on-duty death was the first in the department's 58-year history, according to a statement.
Firefighters were called to the scene at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday. Six residents were at home and escaped uninjured, fire 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 an area 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 2004.
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=39&id=39300