Man electrocuted after jumping on power transformer in Idaho Falls

The following is a news release and photos from the Idaho Falls Fire Department.

IDAHO FALLS – Shortly before midnight Saturday, the Idaho Falls Police Department and Idaho Falls Fire Department were dispatched to Idaho Falls Power for a report of an adult male who was trespassing and climbing on the water tower. The water tower is located inside the grounds of Idaho Falls Power near the intersection of North Capital Avenue and Broadway.

First responders attempted to talk to the male for some time but he was very uncooperative, would not come down on his own, and stated that he would fight anyone who climbed the tower after him. The responders used extreme caution not to agitate the male more, which would have added greater risk to the situation and possibly put the first responders’ lives at risk as well. Attempts to convince the male to come down were unsuccessful and there were no safe options to otherwise remove the male from the tower. Responders backed away from the scene in an attempt to deescalate the situation and get him to come down safely on his own.

At some point, the male climbed down from the water tower and worked his way to Idaho Falls Power’s generation/dispatch center. He then proceeded to climb over some fences that were surrounding the power plant and was running on a concrete wall on the west side of the building along the Snake River. Idaho Falls Power personnel looked out the window when they saw a flash and heard a boom as the male jumped onto the transformer, came in contact with a high voltage power line and died instantly.

Additional Idaho Falls Power personnel were called in to secure the electrical equipment so firefighters could safely access the high voltage equipment where the male had come in contact with the high voltage transformer.

The person’s next of kin were notified early this morning. We extend our sincere condolences to them. No other information will be released at this time.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story contained the headline, “Man electrocuted after jumping off Idaho Falls water tower.” The man actually jumped on the transformer after climbing down from the tower. EastIdahoNews.com apologizes for the error.