Soap Lake man fatally electrocuted

SOAP LAKE — An autopsy will be performed today in the death of a Soap Lake man fatally electrocuted while trying to reconnect a fuse to his Soap Lake home Monday afternoon.

Joseph M. Sims, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene of his residence on the 1600 block of Road 27 NE, 7 miles northeast of Soap Lake. The Grant County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene shortly before 6:30 p.m., and said Sims apparently tried to re-install a fuse disconnected by the Grant County Public Utility District. Investigators said Sims had been using two large metal poles attempting to re-seat the fuse, when a charge went through his body and he fell approximately 20 feet to the ground.

The sheriff's office said the fuse was in a power supply line to protect the transformer from unexpected lightening strikes and power surges, and is typically charged with more than 7,600 volts of electricity before the voltage is reduced by a transformer.

Grant County Coroner Jerry Jasman said resuscitation attempts on Sims were unsuccessful. An autopsy is scheduled for today to verify Sims' cause of death.

— Staff report