Tree Trimmer Electrocuted On The Job In Nokomis

NOKOMIS - James Lykins spent most of his adult life as a tree trimmer, a high-wire balancing act of chain saws and great heights that sometimes claims lives.

On Wednesday, the 57-year-old Osprey resident touched his pole saw to a live power line and was electrocuted.

As friends and relatives mourned the 53-year-old father of five, experts in the field said Wednesday that Lykins' death is a warning as hurricane season approaches and tree trimming kicks into high gear.

"It's a dangerous job -- there's no bones about it -- and we all need to remember that," said Andrew Goodman, owner of Andrew's Tree Service in Sarasota.

Lykins was trimming branches from two tall oak trees when the accident occurred at 8:42 a.m.

The branches were draped over power lines in front of a Shakett Creek waterfront home on Bayview Drive.

Authorities are not sure exactly what happened, but Goodman said the saw probably slipped in Lykins' hands or was pulled down by falling branches.

"Slip or a pull," Goodman said. "From my nine years of experience, that's typically what happens. A guy thinks he can handle a situation, and one little mishap is all it takes."

When Lykins' saw touched the wire, it sent a shock through his body that was so powerful it traveled down his aluminum ladder and set the grass on fire. Relatives said they were told the shock lasted nearly five minutes.

Landscaping is one of the 50 most dangerous jobs in the United States, with 173 deaths in 2006, or 14 for every 100,000 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Working on power lines is the seventh most dangerous job in the United States, with 34 deaths for every 100,000 workers in 2006.

Relatives said Lykins was a careful and knowledgeable worker who enjoyed the challenges of his job at H&H Tree Service in Nokomis. They described the Kentucky native as friendly and generous.

"Just a great person," said his niece, Penny Hartman, of Osprey. "The kind who would give you the shirt off his back."

One woman who lives in the neighborhood where Lykins died said trees near power lines are a constant problem.

"I had a branch that caught fire a few years ago," Marsha Spurlock said. "It was scary."

Spurlock called a tree trimmer, but he would not take the job. Florida Power & Light did not respond either.

"What are you supposed to do?" she said.