THE BRONX — Two electricians were seriously burned after being exposed to an electric shock in an office building in Fordham Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said.
The men were working on a 440-foot electrical panel on the 14th floor at 400 E. Fordham Rd., near Webster Avenue, when just after 3 p.m. they were zapped, an FDNY spokesman said.
"There was some kind of arch with a flash fire, causing burns to 40 percent of their bodies," FDNY Deputy Chief Joe Saccente told reporters at the scene.
Karmica, 43, a social worker who saw one of the workers being rushed out of the building, said his upper body appeared nearly charred.
"He was walking, but his face and whole chest area was burned," Karmica, who asked that her last name not be used, said. "It was black and his skin was peeled.
"It was hard to look at," she added. "His whole face was burned."
Both victims suffered burns to their upper torso, neck, face, back and arms, he said. They were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in serious condition, the spokesman added.
The Department of Buildings did not immediately have information about the work site.
Workers in the building, which is across the street from Fordham University, said the electric shock could be felt several floors down.
"The alarm went off, and all the lights went out," said Allison Beay, 38, who works on the sixth floor. "Everybody was just like, 'What happened?'"
The cause of the shock was being investigated.
