GARDINER — A 76-year-old Suquamish electrical contractor was electrocuted Wednesday morning in a gravel pit power shed.
Journeyman electrician Ivan Rettig was pronounced dead at the scene by Jefferson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Shane Seaman, acting as county coroner, at about 11:25 a.m.
Rettig was working on a new 480-volt power panel for a rock crusher at the gravel pit off Gardiner Beach Road at about 10 a.m. Wednesday
Power went out, drawing the attention of employees of the Poulsbo.-based Hard Rock, Inc. gravel pit. They found the shed engulfed in flames, investigators said.
Workers found Rettig leaning forward into the high-voltage panel but were unable to pull him away because of the fire’s intensity, said Jefferson County Undersheriff Tim Perry.
The fire destroyed the shed with Rettig inside, firefighters said.