L. D. Dunn rescued Acie M. Southern from electric shock, Foley, Alabama, February 29, 1964. While working on a utility pole, Southern, 30, lineman, came into contact with one of three uninsulated power lines, each carrying 2,400 volts of electricity, and lost consciousness. Suspended by his safety belt and pole strap, he slid down to atop the pole’s guy cable 29 feet above the ground. Dunn, 33, lineman, who was working lower on the same pole, immediately climbed upward five feet to within eight inches of the power lines. Although he suffered from a chronic back condition, Dunn took hold of Southern and supported their combined weight against his own safety belt and pole strap. Dunn administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and within three minutes Southern began to revive and to struggle violently. He flailed his arms and kicked his feet, striking Dunn about the head and hitting him in the stomach. Southern’s hands and feet came within inches of the power lines. Dunn continued to hold Southern until a truck arrived and raised its boom alongside the pole with two men aboard. They relieved Dunn of Southern, who still was struggling, and took him to the ground on the boom as Dunn descended the pole. Southern recovered.
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