UPDATE: Hyattsville Man Fatally Electrocuted In Takoma Park

Update, 5:49 p.m.: Day laborer Orlando Hernandez, 48, of Hyattsville, was fatally electrocuted this morning when a ladder he was using made contact with a high-voltage power line in the 7400 block of Jackson Avenue, said Catherine E. Plevy, spokeperson for Takoma Park Police.

Hernandez was hired by the homeowners to trim a tree located on the property, police said. After trimming the tree and removing some of the wood pieces, Hernandez attempted to move the ladder when it made contact with a power line charged with 7,620 volts of electricity, police said.

The first responding officer arrived to find Hernandez engulfed in flames and in contact with the ladder; the area surrounding him was still being charged by the power line, police said.

Pepco responded and shut down the power feed in the area, police said. About 1,000 customers were in the dark for about an hour, according to Pepco spokesperson Camille Smith.

Once a sufficient amount of the ladder had melted away, contact with the electricity was broken, and Montgomery Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the fire and the affected area, police said.

Hernandez immediately succumbed to his injuries sustained from the electrocution and fire, and his body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore for further examination and autopsy.

Update, 3:44 p.m.: In a statement issued about this morning's fatal electrocution in the 7400 block of Jackson Avenue, Pepco spokesperson Camille Smith said, "There was a public fatality this morning in Takoma Park involving a high-voltage Pepco power line. Pepco is working with the Montgomery County Police Department during the investigation into this unfortunate accident."

About 1,000 customers were without power for about an hour following the incident, said Smith in a phone conversation with Patch.

"Pepco was not aware of any work going on," she added.

Update, 2:07 p.m.: Patch spoke with Councilwoman Colleen Clay (Ward 2) who said that she received an e-mail from Takoma Park Mayor Bruce Williams stating that two gentlemen were hired by a homeowner on the 7400 block of Jackson Avenue to do storm cleanup.

Clay said the men started before 8 a.m. and were using a ladder to do the cleanup.

"There was a live wire in the tree. The electricity arced from the wire to the aluminum ladder, and the man was killed instantly," she said.

Clay said the worker has a wife and children.

She said she is well aware of the dangers of electricity because her father was an electrician for the Rural Electric Authority in Nebraska. Clay said that he stressed the importance of safety to her and her family.

"I certainly respect it, and I'm very careful about it," Clay said. "Electricity is so powerful. People don't recognize the power of how fatal it can be—how dangerous it is.

Takoma Park Police and Pepco are still on the scene.

Update, 11:54 a.m.: A person, possibly a worker, was electrocuted on Jackson Avenue near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue in Takoma Park, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

Garcia said that the individual was not a homeowner.

Stay tuned to Patch for details.

Original post, 11:32 a.m.: The Takoma Park Police Department is investigating a death in the 7400 block of Jackson Avenue, according to police spokeswoman Catherine E. Plevy.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:20 a.m., Plevy said.

The name of the deceased individual will not be released until next of kin is notified.

No additional details are available at this time.