At least three children, some as young as 9 years old, were shocked when they came into contact with live electrical wires that fell at Camp Shopron in Fallsburg on Wednesday afternoon. Emergency personnel were called to the Sullivan County day camp around 1 p.m., and the injured children were flown by helicopter to Westchester Medical Center for treatment.
The children were electrocuted after touching wires that fell at the camp, according to Sullivan County public safety officials, as reported by News 12 Westchester. Authorities said they did not immediately know what caused the wire to fall. New York State Electric and Gas crews were on scene removing the downed line following the incident.
Westchester Medical Center said it expects all three children to be okay, according to the hospital. The wounded children received care from the hospital's trauma burn team after being flown across county lines to Valhalla.
Why the Children Were Flown to Westchester County
The trip to Westchester Medical Center reflects standard regional protocol rather than an unusual decision. The Valhalla campus is home to the only American Burn Association-verified adult and pediatric burn center in Westchester County, the Hudson Valley, and eastern New York State north of New York City, according to the Westchester Medical Center Health Network. The burn center recorded more than 300 adult and pediatric admissions in 2023 from across the Hudson Valley, upstate New York, and neighboring states, making it the primary referral hub for exactly this kind of thermal and electrical trauma.
Camp Shopron, officially registered as Camp Bnei Shimon Yisroel Shopron, sits on 18.91 acres at 5555 State Route 42 in Fallsburg, near Brickman Road in Sullivan County. The camp has been expanding in recent years; the Town of Fallsburg Zoning Board of Appeals granted it a six-month variance extension in January 2023 for a project exceeding 25 percent growth, including a new kitchen and dining room building, a shul, and a bunkhouse.
Camp Safety Rules and a Crowded Catskills Summer
New York camps like Shopron operate under strict state oversight. Under Subpart 7-2 of the New York State Sanitary Code, all children's day and overnight camps must maintain an approved written safety plan and undergo mandatory twice-yearly health department inspections, with at least one occurring during the operating season, per the New York State Department of Health. Those plans must also include emergency medical response protocols and require camps to keep at least one staffer certified in first aid and CPR for every 200 campers.
The incident lands during the peak of the region's busiest season. Fallsburg's year-round population of roughly 14,000 nearly triples every July and August as seasonal residents, bungalow colonies, and summer camps arrive, according to WJFF Radio Catskill. Sullivan County as a whole hosts nearly 100 Orthodox summer camps, and its countywide summer population can swell to as many as 300,000 people compared with about 77,500 year-round residents, per the New York Jewish Week.
What Comes Next for the Downed Wire
New York State Electric and Gas advises that anyone who spots a downed wire stay at least 30 feet away and treat every fallen line as though it is energized. The utility's protocols call for crews to isolate and secure downed lines before restoring power, and direct anyone who encounters a hazard to call 911 and also report the location to NYSEG's emergency dispatch line at 1-800-572-1131. It remains unclear what caused the wire at Camp Shopron to fall in the first place, and no additional details on a state or utility investigation into the hazard have been released.
