BILLINGS (AP)
A NorthWestern Energy lineman, who died last month after being found unresponsive at a Lockwood job site, died of a low-voltage electrical shock while on the job, Yellowstone County Coroner Bill Jones says. Sebastian “Seb” Fettig, 60, of Billings, repaired and installed electrical lines. He was found unconscious by members of his crew on June 15 and had suffered no obvious signs of trauma. He never regained consciousness and died June 19 at St. Vincent Healthcare. It was the first on-the-job death of a NorthWestern Energy employee since Nov. 28, when a worker in Thompson Falls died of injuries suffered during a fall while clearing a downed tree. Nancy Fettig, the victim’s widow, said the coroner’s report confirmed her suspicions. “Every wife of a lineman lives with that knowledge that her husband’s job is dangerous, and it just came home to me,” she said when reached at her home Thursday. “I don’t think there’s a wife out there who doesn’t hear this news and think about her own husband.” The company is still conducting a review to make sure all safety practices were followed at the Lockwood job site, said NorthWestern Energy spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is also investigating. Federal law requires that the agency be notified of all workplace deaths. The OSHA office has 60 days from the time of the report to complete its review.
