Man electrocuted while changing light fixture in Amherst

By Matt Gryta, Buffalo News

Amherst police are investigating the death of a young electrician who was electrocuted this afternoon while changing a light fixture in a building in an industrial park on Earhart Drive off Wehrle Drive.

Police Lt. Brian G. Miller said police got the call on the fatality about 2:30 p.m. and late in the afternoon were still trying to contact relatives of the victim who reportedly was 24 and has two young sons. The victim's name will not be released until his relatives are notified, Miller said.

Amherst Building Commissioner Tom Ketchum said the victim worked for a subcontractor doing work without a permit on an energy conservation program for businesses run by a Rochester-based contracting firm.

Ketchum said preliminary reports indicated the victim was changing a light fixture in a business building to make it more energy efficient and compatible with florescent lighting but apparently failed to switch off the electrical current to the fixture before beginning work.

Because the electrician was grounded and working on a "live" fixture, the electrical current went through his body, killing him, Ketchum said.