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He said an autopsy will be completed in Lucas County, and final findings should be available today.
Kish said there were pegs on the side of the tower that allowed access to it, and it appeared Smith was standing on one of them while working on the loudspeaker in the stadium in preparation for a junior varsity football game scheduled for today.
Vermilion Local School District Superintendent Bruce Keller said two maintenance employees nearby performed CPR on Smith before calling for help.
''Both people heroically provided everything they could,'' Keller said. ''Unfortunately, it did not lead to a successful resuscitation.''
Keller said Smith's death has been very difficult for the school district. Smith had worked as an electrician there since 2004. He was a graduate of Vermilion High School and a lifelong resident of Vermilion.
''John was so well thought of,'' Keller said. ''(His co-workers) are feeling a loss of both a colleague and a friend.''
Keller said the district's counseling staff had been working all day with the employees who were on the scene and Smith's other co-workers.
''We are all saddened by this loss,'' he said. ''We'd ask all to please remember John and his family in this difficult time.''
Keller said the junior varsity football game would go on as planned. As an ''avid supporter'' of Vermilion athletics, Smith would have wanted it that way, Keller said.
Smith was also a member of St. Mary Catholic Church, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a member of AMVETS Post 22 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 397 in Vermilion.
Keller, who has been superintendent since 1992, said nothing like this has happened during his time with the district.
Although no memorials have been planned yet at the school, he said the district will consult with Smith's friends and family before making arrangements.
