Syracuse, NY -- A 35-year-old man is in critical condition this afternoon after receiving a shock while refinishing a wood floor in the Eastwood section of Syracuse, police said. Donald Sweeney was using an edge sander about 1:10 in a bedroom of a house at 122 Lillian Ave. when there was a short inside the sander, Lt. Ken Heffernan, Syracuse...
Syracuse, NY -- A 35-year-old man is in critical condition this afternoon after receiving a shock while refinishing a wood floor in the Eastwood section of Syracuse, police said.
Donald Sweeney was using an edge sander about 1:10 in a bedroom of a house at 122 Lillian Ave. when there was a short inside the sander, Lt. Ken Heffernan, Syracuse fire investigator, said. The ground plug to the sander had been cut off, he said.
"We're assuming his foot came in contact with the heating grate," Heffernan said.
When his foot touched the metal grate, he became grounded and received a shock, Heffernan said. The shock threw him across the bedroom and blew him out of his socks and shoes, Heffernan said.
Sweeney's partner heard the thud and found Sweeney on the floor. Firefighters performed CPR and restarted Sweeney's heart, Heffernan said.
Sweeney is now breathing on his own but is in critical condition, Sgt. Gary Bulinski said.