1 Con Ed worker killed, another injured, in Brooklyn manhole explosion

BY JONATHAN LEMIRE, MIKE JACCARINO and TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Thursday, October 9th 2008, 3:21 PM

A Con Edison worker was killed Thursday when a fiery manhole explosion trapped him underground in Brooklyn, authorities said.

Witnesses said they saw smoke billowing from the Sutter Ave. work site, heard a ground-shaking bang, and saw flames shoot out.

"There was a lot of fire coming from the hole," said Pete Medina, 47.

"The guy [another Con Ed worker] was crying, 'My friend's down there.' He was trying to get into the hole, crying, 'My friend's down there.'"

"I saw smoke and a lot of people running and then boom!" said witness Harold Lynch. "I heard the guy yelling, 'George, George!' But there was no reply from inside the hole."

Con Ed identified the dead worker as George Dillman, 26, a splicer who had been with the utility for three years. His partner was Craig Penney, 28, who had worked for Con Ed for a year.

Fire officials said Penney was above the manhole and Dillman was inside - about 10 feet below ground - when the explosion happened around 12:35 p.m.

A frantic Penney, who suffered minor injuries in the blast, tried to lower a ladder into the hole so Dillman could climb out - but it was no use.

"The guy down there - he didn't have a chance," said another witness, a retired cop. "He would have needed God to pull him out."

Four fire trucks were on the scene within minutes, and firefighters cut the power and used a hook to pull out Dillman by his harness, Deputy Chief David Jakubowski said.

A supervisor, Sonny Jelovcic, 60, described Dillman as a gung-ho worker who hoped to move up through Con Ed's ranks.

"He had a girfriend he was going to get married to," said Jelovcic. "He was an extremely likeable guy - humble and always had a smile on his face."

Con Ed issued a statement saying it was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy and was investigating.

Fire officials said there were 12 cables running through the manhole - a six-foot-high chamber - some of which carry 27,000 volts.

"It's a very dirty, dangerous job," said Joe Flaherty, a spokesman for the Utility Workers of America Local 1-2. "These folks work live electric all the time."

He said the union president went to the scene to console Dillman's family and meet with safety investigators.

"We want to see if there was any negligence involved on the part of the company," Flaherty said.