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Just before 11 a.m., the 41-year-old employee was working in a bucket truck to connect power to an apartment complex under construction. He was moving a dead wire and one carrying 13,800 volts.
The wires touched, and the resulting flash burned the left side of his face and his left ear and shoulder, said Deputy Chief Paul Tota of the Natick Fire Department.
"At the time, [the employee] was transferring wires from one pole to another," said Caroline Allen, an NStar spokeswoman. "It's our understanding that one wire made contact with another, and that's what made the flash."
Officials said the flash of electricity, not direct contact with wires, injured the NStar employee of more than 20 years, whose identity was not released.
Other workers on the scene called 911 and used a burn kit to treat the victim, who remained conscious, Tota said.
Natick rescue crews arrived quickly because they were nearby, responding to a fire alarm at the Natick Collection, Tota said. The man walked into the ambulance and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he was treated for first- and second-degree burns. He was in stable condition, Allen said.
The accident disrupted power for about 40 customers, most of which were nearby businesses. An additional crew arrived at the scene, and power was restored within an hour.
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