Home > Accident > Man Catches On Fire While Attempting To Steal Copper From Electric Substation

Man Catches On Fire While Attempting To Steal Copper From Electric Substation

May 8, 2012 at 12:14 pm by Morbid

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – A man in California is paying a very hefty price after he caught on fire while attempting to steal copper wire from a live electric substation.

A man who lives across the street said that he heard a large boom coming from the substation around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, followed by a man’s screams. When he ran over to see what happened, he found a man on fire on the other side of the substation’s fence.

He was unable to open the locked gate, so he ran back home to grab a fire extinguisher in hopes of returning to the man and extinguishing the flames.

“He kept standing and screaming, screaming, screaming. And I couldn’t get in. I had a fire extinguisher. But he wouldn’t come over. But he started to roll.”

The unidentified man was rushed to the hospital suffering from injuries only described as “grave.” Police will only say that the man is in his 20s. Witnesses said he was so badly burned that there was no way for him to be identified.

The 33,000 volt face-melter knocked out power for 14,000 customers.

I was going to post a news video regarding this incident, but thought I would try to help out other potential copper thieves by providing them with the same fundamental information regarding electricity that I was given as a kid during my Saturday morning cartoons while eating a bowl of Cap ‘n Crunch Berries — saving the berries for last, of course.

Tags: Accident, California, copper, Crime, fire, Theft

73 Comments

Comments

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http://www.facebook.com/clayton.knudsen1 Clayton Knudsen

Morbid, You are funny.
CT

There is lightning in the air, boom, ahhhhh, LIGHTNING, boom lightning lightning lightning! I am not scared, boom, lightning
LoKi4778

Evidently the perp is not a well grounded individual…
JGo555

SUCK IT!

@Morbid:disqus this is another one that you could’ve used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7hlkh0klcGA
JGo555

& @Morbid:disqus my kids loved the electricity video. The girl was singing it.
EveryVillainIsLemons

Gives a whole new meaning to “BOOM! Headshot,” doesn’t it?
Pyncky

Karma is often a real hothead.
LeaveMeBe

I am trying to imagine standing there with a fire extinguisher and not being able to do a damn thing except watch a human torch. My doctor and I were chatting about burns and burn victims yesterday and she shared some stories from her time working in the burn unit and I told her about my uncle who fell into a trash burn pile. Ugh. I feel like I can smell it again and I think I’m going to be sick.
L. Z.

Not sure if anyone here reads Mostly Cajun, but he’s an electrician who works with the BIG power stations down south.

If you go to his blog and search “electrocution”, you can see what this kind of stuff leads to, in all it’s gory glory.

Here! I’ll make it easy for you: http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/?s=electrocution

Have fun! Hope you didn’t eat recently.
CT

OMG, fell in a burn pile. That is horrifying.
L. Z.

My boyfriend was doused in an accelerant when he was 15. 3rd degree burns over 40% of his body.

He was in a burn unit in a coma for 4 months.

I haven’t seen the pictures, and I’m not sure I want to. I love him so dearly, I don’t think I could stomach looking at pictures of him in that state. I wouldn’t even want to imagine the smell.

Surprisingly, he’s a welder now. Go figure.
EmmyDearest

hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha… stupid crack heads.. I love school house rock, I really wish they would play it at my college then death by power point..
http://twitter.com/vab423 Vicki B.

Karma 1, Unidentified crispy would-be copper thief 0.
curiousalways

hmmmm are going with meth or bath salts on this one?

and Morbid-it’s peanut butter captain crunch that rocked my world as a kid. Don’t tell anyone but I used to break up fudge striped cookies in the cereal when no one else was around. yummy
DangerousKindOfSnark

Damn, just damn. My friend is an electrician and it is a hell of a way to go. People who are willing to fuck with electrical systems to get at the copper baffle me. He’s told me stories of coming back to a project after the weekend to have wires completely stripped out and at anytime the thieves could have been killed. He does residential and business, he won’t even do high voltage even he thinks that shit is scary.
TheLadyDragon

Reminded me of a similar theft attempt in Kelowna BC, when the man was injured they lied and said they were just cycling through the area… Dumb.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Kelowna+dies+after+suspected+electric+wire+theft/6553984/story.html

As soon as the story broke I knew it was going to end like this (with both his death and the confession that they were stealing copper wire).
Sorrow_discord

Mentions of cartoons and people on fire in the same story leave me the image of a person running around like a maniac while flames leap from their head until they find that bucket of water.
LeaveMeBe

It was horrific. He was out back by himself when it happened and my MIl and FIL were out front with my SIL. They never heard a thing, he didn’t make a sound. When my MIL went back inside and finished up dinner she went to call out for him and couldn’t find him. She checked his bedroom and he was laying in bed covered with his blanket and in shock. He had somehow made it back into the house and gotten in bed and his body was still so hot and smoldering his blanket melted to him. He was STAR flighted to a burn unit in San Antonio and lived for six months. I visited him twice and couldn’t go back again and I felt awful about it but I could not handle it. When I was at my MIL’s the day after it happened, you could smell burnt human being and I swear on my life it is the worst smell ever. I could not get it out of my nostrils for days.
https://twitter.com/#!/AngelsMom0806 Angels Mom

Copper thieves suck.
Texas Ranger

no…they appear to burn rather nicely.
jennie1974

Only one phrase comes to mind, “thining th herd”.
aka jas

The guy that donated the sperm to create me was fucking around with live wires, burned over half his body and lost both legs above his knees. Electricty is a little bitch eh? Stupid ass.
SayAunt

Electrical substations = human bug zappers.
sugarpie

Electrifying story!
kimbev69

omg i remember this
kimbev69

omg i cannot even imagine
kimbev69

seriously how did he decide to do that? prob overcame his fears though
Heather4877

I don’t know how much that copper wire goes for for these guys, but considering how many times I’ve read about some asshole frying himself to get it, I don’t think I’d risk it.
http://twitter.com/tinalib13 Tina Wech

I find this story shocking! People like this really burn me up!! tehehehe

Morbid–I can’t see the video for some reason.
sam1211

Face Melter…Ha dude being fried for some copper……im guessing a crackhead short on cash?
sam1211

I just gotta tell you, your avatar picture is funny. I actually tried moving the little fly, thinking it was on my screen. O_o Lol
Andy P

Me too. Brought back memories. Here are a couple more of my favorites…. Hanker for a hunker of cheese.. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xRv9ZQOCPo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPoBE-E8VOc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-eYBZFEzf8
Andy P

Wow those geese are certainly cooked. Thanks for that. Now I need to go clean off my monitor. LMAO.
darsa

Oh my God is he really still alive? Wow… that is one HELLUVA way to pay for your actions O.O I wouldn’t wish that on anyone… well, not a copper thief anyway. Maybe a child molester…
LeaveMeBe

NotlookingNotlookingNotlookingNotlookingNotlooking!
LeaveMeBe

I’m drooling. I love Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch. Never thought about breaking up the Keebler Fudge Striped Cookies into it though. I missed out.
OutOfBubbleGum

“badly burned that there was no way for him to be identified”
I’m sorry to announce that there will be no Christmas this year. We’ve identified the man a Chris Cringle.
OutOfBubbleGum

“badly burned that there was no way for him to be identified”
I’m sorry to announce that there will be no Christmas this year. We’ve identified the man a Chris Cringle.
melliain

tweakers……. SMH
melliain

tweakers……. SMH
curiousalways

well if you are ever feeling really kiddish, sneak and try it out……..let me know if you ever do.
Wolf_of_Mars

Live-Wire copper thieves = Bright, new human torches.

“Hey Buddy, got a light?”
Wolf_of_Mars

Don’t blame him.
http://oddlyunfocused.blogspot.com/ Eccentric_Lady

Story reminds me of when I was stationed in in Turkey – we had some Turkish guys try to steal the copper from the rotating beacon on top of the water tower. Their isn’t any real safety features to speak of, and when they got zapped trying to get the wires they also did a gravity check. Was pretty damn ugly….
LeaveMeBe

I happen to have both of those at home. I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Califboy

His nickname is “Popcorn”…………..
Califboy

Just takes the really super fucking dumb asses out of the reproducing link, Ok with me, they have signs every where around those areas with barbwire and shit.
Califboy

Brake out the cell phone and get a real good youtube video if you see something like this, and yell stop,drop, and roll asshole.
Heather_Habilatory

You aren’t kidding. Burnt flesh/hair is… uugh. It’s indescribably bad. One you will never forget.
Heather_Habilatory

Let me guess: the gravity was totally working that day.
Heather_Habilatory

I’m going to reserve judgement until we find out more about the crispy critter.
https://twitter.com/#!/AngelsMom0806 Angels Mom

I did as well.
pikeman

While the dude is screaming and on fire would be a perfect opportunity to sneak over there and cash in on some copper. That shit is worth a lot of money, and the economy is bad and all, you have to seize a good opportunity when you get the chance.

“Duck, cover, and roll dude. Sorry I can’t help. This copper wire is heavy shit. Good luck, dude.”
http://truecrimereport.com iLLusionS

This guy missed out on several opportunities here, one being stop, drop and roll. The other being, getting a fucking job.
L. Z.

From what I have heard from him and his family, it was a long, hard road to overcome, especially since he lost his best friend in that same fire. The man isn’t afraid of anything, and is willing to tackle anything that comes his way head on.

He has told me repeatedly that he isn’t afraid of death (as he has stared death in the face twice now, and has overcome), and I believe that much of that is attributed to his personality and his ability to be so strong. He has said that once you come face to face with death and accept your own mortality, everything in life becomes easier. Hell, he has helped me calm myself over tiny little things. He lives life for the moment, and embraces life to it’s fullest, every day.

He’s an incredible man, and I’m lucky to have had him pick me.
kimbev69

Aww that is sweet that he has you :0)
curiousalways

hello! did you get to try the crunch-cookie combo?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7N6KYE5OZO7WNUYTTYEDVWOINE Marysa Nieves

Me three!
JohnQknowitall

I guess he thought the fence was there only to protect things inside the fence. I hate is in his current (pardon the pun) condition, but what an idiot.
Snickering_Hydra

. . .
Snickering_Hydra

I bet he thought it was a better idea than the one his equally stupid friend had: stealing the uranium out of a nuclear reactor.
LeaveMeBe

I did last night! It was sooooo good and has made my list to be one of my weird guilty pleasures (along with pickles and mayonaise). Thank you for the recipe!
curiousalways

glad you enjoyed!
curiousalways

fo
LeaveMeBe

???
curiousalways

I was trying to post a pic and it wouldn’t work. Do you follow Morbid on fb? I posted it on his wall for you to see…..
LeaveMeBe

Glad to know it didn’t mean what I originally thought. I was like “What did I do? ”

I don’t really FB much at all so I don’t follow anyone on DD. I am in the forums though so you could post it there… I’m dying to see what it is now!!!
curiousalways

how do I get to the forums?
LeaveMeBe

Top of the page click on Forums. It has a seperate registering process, but it’s so worth it. I split my time between here and there. I am LeaveMeBe there also so I am easy to find. Come on, take my hand, come to the dark side. You know you want to.
Tenbux

Some stupid mistakes are understandable.
Trying to take apart a live substation is not.
Even ignoring the posted warnings and even when I was a kid, looking at substations triggered thoughts like “Hey, that looks kinda fucking dangerous.”
LeaveMeBe

“Hey, that looks kinda fucking dangerous.”

So true! *laughing helplessly*
RydoLarsson

so he was still alive and still couldn’t be identified holy shit lol never heard that before
onlyme356

Question: Do I feel sorry for this man?

Answer: No.