Phone Worker Impaled by Fence Spike

A Pacific Bell worker slipped while climbing a wrought-iron fence at a Sherman Oaks home Monday morning, impaling his left leg on an iron spike, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.

Firefighters sawed the spike from the fence to get the man down, fire officials said.

The 31-year-old Winnetka man was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where surgeons removed the spike, Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

The worker, whose identity was not released, was in fair condition after surgery, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The man was trying to scale the fence to perform work at a residence in the 15300 block of Morrison Street at about 9 a.m. when he fell on the spike, which penetrated six inches into his thigh, Humphrey said.