Fifty-eight years ago this week, a group of lineworkers from Florida’s Jacksonville Electric Authority were completing routine maintenance in the blazing sun. It was hot, difficult work, and a group of public onlookers had gathered below to watch.

Apprentice lineman Randall Champion (nicknamed “Hamburger,” because he had a second job at Burger King) was harnessed atop a pole when he came into contact with a 4,160-volt line.

The current entered through four of the fingers on his left hand and exited his body through the heel of his right foot. He immediately went limp, dangling precariously from his safety harness.

Crewmembers and public onlookers cried out, noting that Champion needed urgent help.

Every worker on the crew wasn’t equipped to climb poles, but J.D. Thompson, another apprentice lineman, was. He hurriedly descended the pole he was working on – about 400 yards away – and up the pole where Champion was tethered.

As Thompson did that, Rocco Morabito, a photographer for the Jacksonville Journal who was in the crowd on the ground, hurried back to his vehicle. There, he used his two-way radio to contact the Journal, asking them to send an ambulance to the scene. He also picked up an additional roll of film for his camera.

When Thompson reached Champion, he thought it was too late. Champion’s face and cheeks were blue, and he was neither moving nor breathing. In a last-ditch effort to save him, Thompson cradled Champion’s head in his left arm and began administering CPR.

With a hiccup, Champion began breathing again. By the time the two lineworkers carefully made it to the ground, he’d regained a groggy consciousness.

All the while, Morabito snapped pictures.

Modern-day lineworkers go through task-related training programs and years of apprenticeship. They learn how to work what is inherently a high-risk job safely. And personal protective equipment for the role (as well as standard safety practices) have come a long way since 1967.

But what was true for Champion and Thompson back then is still true today. Lineworkers also train on how to provide emergency medical assistance to their colleagues in the field. And sometimes, that training is the difference between life and death.

“We’ve certainly come a long way over the decades, and the training programs, processes and rules we follow are designed to make certain each employee or contractor working on Entergy’s behalf has the best chance of returning home as good as or better than they arrived,” said Michael Considine, vice president of power delivery operations at Entergy.

On that fateful day in 1967, Morabito’s editors held the printing of the paper to get his image of the dramatic rescue on the front page. They headlined it “The Kiss of Life.” Five related images, as well as the full story, appeared inside.

While Champion began recovering in Baptist Memorial Hospital (a process that took months in burn units and rehab facilities), the photo and story were picked up by news outlets nationwide. Ten months later, the photo would win the Pulitzer Prize.

As for Thompson, he went right back to work. Thunderstorms were rolling into the area, and he worked outage restoration into the early morning the following day.

All these years later, this iconic photo still tells an important story. A story of brotherhood and humanity. Of being ready for anything.

“This event and this historic photo truly encapsulate what those in the industry and certainly at Entergy know is true, that the practice of being your brother’s or sister’s keeper is a core behavior in our culture,” added Considine. “Both the nature of the work we do and its importance to the public demand nothing less.”

Learn more about the safety culture at Entergy.