Albert W. Johnson, 50, trouble man, rescued Archie L. Spain, 49, trouble man, from electric shock, Dallas, Texas, June 17, 1948. While Spain was working 33 feet above ground on a pole, he was shocked by a wire charged with 7600 volts of electricity and fell back unconscious in his fastened safety-strap. An arc of flame extended between the wire and his hat, which had a metal band; and his shirt was afire. Johnson, who was below Spain on the pole, climbed to him. By then the arc had broken. Johnson fastened his own safety-strap around the pole between other wires and just below Spain’s strap, and got behind him. He pressed Spain against the pole and extinguished the flames on his shirt. Spain slumped to a doubled-up position astride Johnson’s strap. Johnson raised him to a normal sitting position and began efforts to restore respiration, removing Spain’s strap. Spain resumed breathing in four minutes and flailed his arms, kicked, and shouted. For two minutes Johnson with great effort kept Spain’s body and arms from touching the wires, Johnson’s glasses being jarred off during the struggle. Spain became limp again, and for another two minutes Johnson resumed efforts at resuscitation. Again Spain partially revived and for two minutes struggled violently, but Johnson kept him away from the wires. Other men reached the pole and aided in lowering Spain, whose struggling had become feeble, to the ground by means of a rope. Johnson though weak and nervous descended unaided. Spain sustained serious burns but recovered.
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