Worker experiences electrical shock at county office buidling
An ambulance transported Adam Betzler, a Washington County electrician hired last year, from the Courthouse Square office building shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday after he received an electrical shock while working on wiring in a seventh-floor office suite.
Betzler was taken to West Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh, according to Mary Helicke, Washington County chief clerk.
Betzler was working in the suite of offices that houses the finance department, human services and veterans affairs when he touched both a live wire and the metal grid that supports ceiling tiles. The shock knocked him backward, but he remained on his feet, said Pat Puskarich, Washington County sheriff’s deputy.
Betzler was able to walk to the office of the Buildings and Grounds Department, from which paramedics were summoned.
“He was going to turn the lights out,” said Irene Farabee, financial analyst for the county, who then “saw him shake his hand.”
The suite of offices has been undergoing renovations for the past few months.