MONROVIA, California USA — A father trying to retrieve his child's toy from a power pole was shocked and seriously burned as his four children looked on, a fire official said.

The man, whose identity was not released, suffered second- and third-degree burns to 65 percent of his body on Sunday. He was in critical condition this morning at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

The 40-year-old man climbed a power pole outside his home to retrieve a toy rocket and parachute. He was using another pole to try to free the toy when he was shocked, city fire Battalion Chief Sam DiGiovanna said.

The electrical current set his clothes ablaze. The man lost his hold and fell from the pole but became entangled in a metal step and dangled until a witness took off his own shirt and tried to smother the flames, DiGiovanna said.

"He had four of his children - three sons and one daughter - sitting in the truck in the back when it happened," witness Scott Dowell said. "They all got out. Actually, one of the sons climbed up on the fence and was trying to help his dad. It's just a horrible, horrible situation."

The man's fall set shrubbery on fire where he landed but the fire was quickly doused, DiGiovanna said.

Monrovia is 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. 

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