THOUSAND OAKS : Man Burns Himself on 16,000-Volt Wires

A 22-year-old Thousand Oaks man was in critical condition Monday night with second and third degree burns on 35% of his body after he he came in contact with a Camarillo power transformer, a hospital spokeswoman said.

John Hammonds Dunn was taken by helicopter to Los Robles Medical Center emergency room shortly after noon Monday, where he was treated for severe burns across the right side of his body. He was transferred later to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Dunn was burned by 16,000-volt wires connected to the transformer, located just south of the 3M plant on Lewis Road, said Camarillo Police Sgt. Frank Segall.

3M security guards had asked Dunn to leave the area earlier in the day, after seeing him near a locked, 12-foot fence that surrounds the transformer.

Electrician Ron Stufflebeam said he heard “a big bang” when Dunn was burned, and the power went out in his building. Stufflebeam--a volunteer with the Ventura County Fire Department for 17 years--said he left the building, saw smoke near the transformer and found Dunn enveloped in flames inside the locked complex. Stufflebeam used water from a passing truck to extinguish the flames, he said.