Utilities: Ongoing Problems During Storms

[hudson144 150]

Again we face the fact that a major storm has ripped through the area and its the same old song "NO ETA ON CON ED/NYSEG. For years now the hudson valley has seen it share of storms regardless of what season it is. Spring,Summer,Fall & Winter we see it time and time again. Again the finger pointing is going on and again when the sun comes out and the winds lay down it appears that it is all forgotten. A few years back on Christmas day I lost power during the blizzard from 4pm (christmas) till 8am the next morning. I actually was out looking for a con ed truck to see what the scoop was. After driving for miles around the hamlet that I live in I located a trouble shooter for Con ED and he was very polite and apologized but he did also mention that he was the only one covering the whole northern westchester. Now that storm like many others that we have experienced in the past usually are predicted and I often wonder who drops the ball on the pre-plan part of the utility companys. The message was sent from that guy who was out freezing his ****s off that it is basically out of the hands of the guys who are in the trenches especially when it comes to manpower for these storms,kind of reminds us of the fire service doesn't it? anyway- where does it end? How many times does the FD strip their resources to babysit a live wire that probably won't be tended to for hours? To try to correct this abuse is just like ******* into the wind and why do I say that? because time and time again we go through the same thing.Where does the liabilty end as far us us as emergency responders go.If we vacate the area where a live wire may be and someone like the poor guy from mid county just happens to come in contact with the wire and gets killed where do we stand?( The FD had was not involved in that incident until later) Where does the fire service turn to hoping to make a stink to rectify this? Does it all fall on deaf ears? I would love to have the money that we all spend on a monthly basis to these companys,i certainly would increase the manpower on the engines that I work on from 2 firefighters to 3. ZING! anyway this could be a long forum so get to it!

[BedfordFire 7]

During these past two storms it seem up here in the northern parts NYSEG brought their "a" game getting to the problems faster then ConEd. However i think this is due to the yard location in Bedford Hills. ConEd, my utility service provider is based in the further south sections of the county, and did not work their way up here until saturday. Since then, ive seen only two trucks, and there is still a large tree down with wires across my road which has not been touched. It seems they've neglected the northern half of the county and are full with so. westchester and the parts of the city. I do agree something should be done asap to resolve this issue.

[ja3kfd 34]

Well the location of theyard in Bedford Hills really does not have all that much to do with NYSEG getting out faster, we do know that brought in extra crews,and trucks from upstate,what happens with Town of Bedford and NYSEG is that they are willing to work with the Town Highway Dept. we went with them, with one of there trucks, showed them the roads we wanted to get open and they went threw and killed power we as the town brought in 2 tree companies and the town staff and equipment. We always offer up the help to them on the other hand Con ED is not around the action we got out of Con Ed was after the Police Chief called the County and Spoke to Comm. Sutton he was able to get Con Ed with 1 Crew,to meet us and he went around and killed the power so we could clear road, the guy from Con Ed said they had extra men in but they had no extra trucks to work.As well NYSEG will cut trees off wires as well as bring in tree crews Con Ed will not clear trees so they have to wait for there tree contractor. There is a lot of room for improvement. As well other towns will do the same thing as we did it is the utilites that need to step it up.

[BedfordFire 7]

It seemed that NYSEG finished up their jobs A LOT faster than ConEd, and I got fed up with ConEd's response, or lack therof, as for having no power for four days straight. Bedford worked with Hawthorne Bro.s and Savatree to clear the trees from the roadway and did a great job. AS for ConEd, they contractract Asplundh Tree Experts, and they too are stationed at the same down county location with ConEd. They were even pacing up and down my road sunday and completely IGNORED the tree i talked about in my first post. As of tomorrow, it will be a WEEK this tree has been down, and nothing has been done by ConEd, or Asplundh, surely i am not happy.

[firecapt32 282]

Hudson your problem is simple---- move!!!!you know im kidding--the views along the hudson are wonderfull--It's the price we have to pay for such joyous living.

Mabey we should give them lights and sirens!!! think that might speed them up??

[CAM502 6]

Bedford woman outraged over dog's death from power line

By SHAWN COHEN

spcohen@thejournalnews.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: January 25, 2006)

BEDFORD — Kate Horn screamed in horror Friday as she watched her yellow Labrador retriever, Bella, get electrocuted by a downed utility wire during a walk along Baylis Lane.

Now she is outraged over what she calls the power company's "gross negligence" for failing to fix the wire even after residents reported problems a day earlier.

"I'm appalled at the way they can get calls from people in the neighborhood saying there was a downed power line, and then not even come to put cones around it," Horn said. "There were children at bus stops just down the road."

Police said they were investigating the incident to see when New York State Gas and Electric was called and how it responded. NYSEG did not return calls yesterday seeking comment.

Horn said she and her husband were walking their 4-year-old dog on Friday morning near the intersection with Greenwich Road, a day after an 82-year-old man was electrocuted by a fallen wire in another part of town.

"It all happened so fast," she said. "We noticed her getting close to a wire on the side of the road. ... I heard her yelp in pain and start to go down, shocked by the current. My husband, John, yelled at me not to touch her. I stopped and turned away screaming."

Police called the power company, which later removed the wire.

That was the second consecutive day authorities had been called to that intersection, Bedford police Lt. Robert Mazurak said. At 8:33 a.m. Thursday, police and firefighters notified NYSEG that wires were down and burning. It is unclear whether NYSEG responded, and what the utility may have done.

Police have conflicting reports and are investigating, Mazurak said.

Horn has spoken with a lawyer, who advised her that she may have no legal recourse because a pet is considered "personal property."

Horn considers the dog a hero.

"As her last act of love, she was a savior who probably saved our lives and possibly the lives of other people," she said.

Now my question is, if the PD and FD responded why was it not roped off at least? And also who is "responsible"? What if this was a person who was killed?

Edited January 26, 2006 by CAM502

[hudson144 150]

CAM-this is my point for opening up this forum,this may be a landmark case in the future which may pave the way for the future,i know if it was my dog i would be pissed big time but just imagine if a person or a child went to assist the dog it could have been really tragic!

[TBarnum 2]

Anytime these type of storms happen there is always 1 or 2 tragic incidents.

Some poeple need to be more aware of their surrondings and stay away of

HAZARDOUS areas, that is why FD and PD put up the yellow Caution or

DO NOT CROSS tape.

During storm conditions it is better and safer to stay inside and out of the emergency workers way but not all people get this. Driving around is bad enough but walking, HELLO you are looking for trouble.

As for Utilities companies, I am not sure how the management makes changes to make these storms better to deal with. I see they have their "wire sitters" now as

opposed to years ago.

[ja3kfd 34]

Okay here is our take or at least mine since it happened in Bedford I work for Town of Bedford Highway Dept. as well as being an Ex-Chief of Katonah FD, The Public DOES not heed our Road Closed Signs, When we put up tape they drive thru it, we had 2 seperate times at the same spot a bicyclist and a jogger both ran over a downed line and we had it taped off and Road Closed signs up.Every spot in Town that we put up barricades we would go back to check and they were either run over or moved tape was gone. We all take the time to go out and secure the area all of FD,PD and Highway the General Public thinks they are above being told what. Yes it is tragic that there Dog was Killed but why did they not have control of there dog?? Our Town has a Leash Law and the Dog should have been on one, they could be ticketed for that. I would have to say it was not because the owner would have been electrocuted as well. The bottom line is if you see a line down treat it as live,PERIOD. Parents have to take resposabilty for there children, animals and themselves, We do the best we can to warn them,in our Town alone we had 100 spots with trees and wires down, that is one town.

Yes the utilites need a better response, We do know NYSEG did bring in numerous crews in from upstate NY they did work around the clock, we workrd hand in hand with them showing them where spots were that neede to be shut off etc. Bottom line is they should not shoulder all the blame .

[27east 19]

hudson, good topic.

I did see Wire sitters out around some areas, which is good. But Lights & Sirens....is it a good idea? I remember reading somewhere that ConEd had applied for them, but DMV did not approve.

What do you all think???

[BedfordFire 7]

I second all the things ja3fd is saying...the public doesnt pay attention to the barricades or signs, and they think that they can just drive past them or move them. We actually got called by the police to help put the barricades back up on the main road because the public moved them aside and wouldnt stop driving under a tree with wires. The public really needs to use some sense here and think before they do.

[CAM502 6]

Well if the public keeps moving the barricades how about posting a traffic cop, or meter maid, or crossing guard, or anyone to direct traffic. Like Hudson said "Where do we Stand?" You can say that they should watch their kid until you turn blue in the face, but in America (the land of lawsuits) that won't fly in court. Someone will have to take the blame. The question is who.

[Guest]

ja3kfd - you are right on the money with that post.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

Problems with Utilities is common all over....they are simply undermanned when a storm hits and if there is no life threat, like a live wire on a car with occupants trapped or a working fire with wires making attack a problem they don't care...the largest number of outages is what comes first, a live wire down affecting 1 or 2 homes or even a block is not considered an emergency. The best we can do is have a police car sit on the call or activate a fire police squad unit to sit and wait till the utility arrives if your fd is that busy with other alarms.....on LI we have been trying to get the power companies to create true emergency response teams...there are enough firemen that work for the utilities around the counties to really make a good reponse team and an effective one...but again a simple secondary wire down or some primary wires down that are not a life hazzard or represent a large # of homes without power will not get a priority response.

[BIGRED1 71]

I live in pelham manor we did not have power for THREE DAYS. i mean the house next to be had juice, so you know that they could have just rigged it up to work.

[BFD1054 1,552]

We have had a similar discussion in the past on this and i agree and hear what most of you are saying. The problem is, as you all stated, the slow responses by the utility companies occurs during MAJOR storms. They only have soo many trucks, crews and resources, such as any emergency service agency does. When a major storm comes through, they spend their load and do the best they can. Believe me, i've joked about it too and i've been pissed because i have had to babysit downed lines, but they're not just hiding out drinking coffee.

My father works for Con Ed and is in his 43rd year of service with them. He is assigned to the transmission lines (the 500' towers you see all around) and has been for quite a few years now. During this last storm, my father was pulled from his regular duties and was assigned to the overhead division (power lines). I can assure you that they do all that they can to restore power and make everyone happy. For the last storm, crews were sent down from Syracuse to assist. They were put up in a hotel in Connecticut and my father was put in charge of them, having to pick them up in Conn. every morning. My father also told me that there were upset homeowners that were out of power for a few days, and as hudson144 stated, they drove around looking for Con Ed trucks. My father was very sympathetic to these people and would follow these people to their neighborhoods and restore power to their houses. In my fathers career, he has seen alot and has traveled all over during major storms, even down south. In some ways, he is much like a firefighter, where he may be away from home for long periods of time, even for days when there has been major outages.

As far as the fire service babysitting downed lines, i hate it too! It sucks that it falls on us, but it does. I'd much rather see a police officer watch the lines, but what can we do? As far as who the responsibility falls on, i'm really not too sure. Yes, a generized, downed power line poses a threat to the public, thats why we're called. But for us to tie up resources for hours is ridiculous!

In closing, i'd just like to say a few things, and not just because my father works for Con-Ed, but because i have learned a few things about them through him and my FD. We all have to try and be patient with them (the utilities). I know it sucks sitting out there, but as i said, they do everything in their power to restore power and do their jobs, and sometimes do more than their jobs. Lets try and give em' a break once in a while, as sometimes we (emergency services) get jammed up too!

Hey hudson, nuxt time you have a problem, give my old man a call and he'll help you out, we're not that far lol!

Edited January 29, 2006 by BFD1054

[Guest]

How about getting those ConEd Meter readers out guarding those downed electrical lines, instead of tying up many of Westchester County's already undermanned and underequipped Fire Departments!

Edited January 29, 2006 by capt.415

[ex-commish 490]

How about getting those ConEd Meter readers out guarding those downed electrical lines, instead of tying up many of Westchester County's already undermanned and underequipped Fire Departments!

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AMEN!!!!!!

Andy Mancusi

Chief

Hawthorne FD