One man caused a major power outage, and the way that he did it will totally shock you, making you grateful for our dedicated first responders…

Even under the best of circumstances, power outages are annoying to deal with. They can cause life-threatening issues for those who depend on them throughout the year, including those who have specific medical conditions.

On Sunday, about 20,000 people in Charlotte, North Carolina had to deal with a power outage for one of the most unusual of reasons: apparently, a man had began climbing the electrical tower!

It was around 2 p.m. that first responders were notified that a man had climbed about 85 feet up into an electrical transmission tower near Nations Crossing Road and Woodlawn Road.

When the emergency crews arrived on the scene, they quickly noticed that the man was acting erratically and seemed to be impaired on either drugs or alcohol, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Major Brian Foley.

Duke Energy quickly de-energized the tower, leaving thousands of local residents up the creek while negotiators were trying their level best to persuade the man to climb down.

“That tower was energized with six lines, each carrying about 115,000 volts,” Foley said, according to WJZY-TV. “I don’t know what your faith is, but I think God was watching over him today.”

It took at least four hours to finally convince the man that he should climb down back on the solid ground, but he did eventually go ahead and climb from that tower. However, authorities are still not certain why the man decided to climb the tower in the first place.

That man’s behavior was concerning enough, but first responders were even more upset at the behavior from some of the looky-loos that were on the scene. They were not only commenting cavalierly about this situation but there were even some people that were making jokes about the scene.

To make matters worse, there were even people that were placing bets regarding whether the man was going to fall. Their behavior was totally appalling to Foley, and he felt the need to address it.

“This is about saving a life,” he said. “So I know some people were upset about their power being cut off, but truly this is about trying to protect an individual and keep them from dying.”

The last straw was when one individual attempted to fly a drone near the man. The owner and operator of that drone ended up being detained and there is a possibility that he will face charges, according to a news release from the City of Charlotte.

“During this response, officers noticed a drone flying in close proximity to the man and high-voltage lines on the electrical tower,” the release said.

“Officers were able to locate the person operating the drone. This person is under investigation for interfering with police and life-saving rescue operations.”

“That makes me sick,” Foley said. “This is about trying to save a life, and when people look at it as purely entertainment, that’s a sad state of affairs for our society.”

After they successfully brought the man to the ground, he was taken to Atrium Main Medical Center where he received proper treatment.