Dive Brief:

• Four firefighters in Kentucky were injured last week while helping college students take part in the ice bucket challenge.
• One of the firefighters was in critical condition after the truck's bucket got too close to an electrified line owned by Kentucky Utilities.
• The accident knocked out power to about 4,500 customers for an hour.

Dive Insight:

The ice bucket challenge sweeping across social media has been helping raise money for Lou Gehrig’s disease research, but this strange story from Kentucky is a reminder to be safe. The truck's bucket never touched the power line, Maine's Portland Press Herald reported, but the line carried enough voltage to shock people nearby.

Firefighters were helping Campbellsville University's marching band take part in the challenge. Following the accident, the Kentucky Public Service Commission will investigate the line's distance from trees and structures.

In lighter utility-related ice bucket challenge news, employees at Kootenai Electric Cooperative in Hayden, Idaho, participated in the challenge. In turn, they nominated Avista Utilities, Clearwater Power, Northern Lights Electric Cooperative and Vera Water and Power to take the challenge or donate.

No word yet on whether the utilities have responded to Kootenai's challenge.