COWPENS, S.C. -- Thousands of people in Cherokee County were left without power overnight Monday after a man was killed trying to steal copper from a Duke Energy substation, according to firefighters at the scene.
Cowpens Fire Chief James Caggiano said the incident happened about 9:40 p.m., and fire crews were at the scene less than five minutes later.
They found the man's body inside the fenced-in power station, Caggiano said.
The man was not authorized to be at the substation and was carrying some very suspicious equipment, Caggiano said.
"They did find some items that would be used in the metal theft industry, cutters and that type thing," Caggiano said.
The fire knocked out the power to more than 3,000 people in the surrounding area, according to the Duke website.
That number included about half of the population of Cowpens, but power to the other half of the city also had to be turned off so crews could safely work on the substation to get it back on line, according to Duke Energy.
Power was restored to the area just before 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The coroner did not immediately release the name of the victim.
SBR Top-Rated Sportsbooks
did this guy used topost here?
Reply With Quote
