House-painter electrocuted in Topsham
Michael Reagan Times Record 07/02/2003
TOPSHAM - A 20-year-old Topsham man died Tuesday after the aluminum ladder he and a co-worker were carrying touched a power line next to an Elm Street residence. Andrew McMillan was declared dead Tuesday afternoon at Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick, said Lt. Chris Lewis of the Topsham Police Department. McMillan was working as a painter with two other employees of College Pro Painters at a home at 16 Elm St. at the time of the accident, which was reported at 2:55 p.m. The other co-worker who was carrying the ladder, Brett Dumont, was taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Lewis said Dumont was in stable condition. According to Lewis, Dumont and McMillan were moving a 40-foot ladder when it appeared they lost their balance and the ladder came into contact with power lines that run parallel to the side of the residence, Lewis said. The third worker was not injured. Central Maine Power Co. officials said the power line had about 7,200 volts running through it, Lewis said. A team from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration in Portland responded to the accident, said Bill Freeman, area director. Investigations can take one to two weeks. Representatives of Central Maine Power Co. were also called to the scene.
