Yet Another Wake Up Call



INTRODUCTION: First of all I do not post on this site very often, but I do visit often. Second, I do not claim to be a writer and I am sure some of you may find a few mistakes in this writing, and for that I do apologize. This is just a brief summery of the events that occurred in our small rural town in Pennsylvania over the past week. Please feel free to comment. Thank you.

As I write this it is Saturday afternoon and many of our residents are just getting their electricity back on in their homes and businesses. We’ve all heard this story countless times in the past. The summer comes in, the temperatures get hot and humid then the storms roll in the power goes out. Well, it has happened again and people are in a panic.

Let’s turn back the clock to Tuesday afternoon. After a week of hot and humid weather, the weather service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the area. As the afternoon turns to early evening the watch is changed to a warning with a forecast of high winds, heavy hail and lightning. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. the skies turn black and the clouds start to boil. In the distance you can see the lightning flash, soon the wind picks up and the rains fall.

At 6:27 p.m. my fire pager went off alerting our department we were needed to provide mutual aid support to a neighboring department for a report of a home on fire. As Deputy Fire Chief, I responded to our station to assist with the fire. As I arrived at the station two other members had just pulled in. When I entered the building one of our junior members said the power was out and the overhead doors would not open. I quickly started our backup generator and hit the transfer switch to allow the power to the overhead doors.
Our response to the fire was an experience in itself. The rain and wind continued to fall and blow making visibility treacherous. One of the members of the department we were assisting radioed us and told us the road that was the most direct to the home that was on fire was blocked by trees and downed wires and we would have to detour. The detour road we planned to use was also blocked with downed trees. As we continued to the third detour road we could hear the chief radio for additional mutual aid departments to assist, only to hear the communications center tell him they were already committed to calls in their own towns. The fire chief quickly asked for other departments some as far as 20 miles away to assist. As we were arriving on scene I could hear the other responding departments report having trouble getting out of their own towns as their roads were also blocked with trees and wires.

The fire was in a home that was struck by lightning and started a fire in the attic. We worked to confine the fire to the attic and second floor of the home. As we continued to work at the scene the rains stopped however the humidity returned. With the fire out we returned to our station finding many of the roads blocked with trees and wires. We continued to hear the dispatchers at the county communications center dispatching area departments to trees and wires down throughout the county. Upon returning to our station we found the power was still out in our town. With our backup generator running we worked to put our equipment back in service and answer calls in our own town of trees and wires down throughout the night.

Our members then returned home to find the power in our own homes out. When I arrived home I found my wife sleeping. She woke to tell me what I already knew, the power is out. She went on to tell me just as I went out the door to go to the fire the power went out in our house. I asked her how she survived the night and she said all was fine. She told me after a half hour of no power and what she could hear on the extra portable fire radio in the house it was going to be a night without power so she did what I told her to do in the past. She simply went to our main power box and shut off the main breaker and turned on our backup power system and she was good for the night with lights and television just as if nothing had changed.

I have always been a person who has believed in alternative sources of energy and we have utilized this on numerous occasions. That night was just another in our life. The system I have in our home is two fold, which consist of a 3 PV panels, a charge control unit, a Vanner 2500-watt inverter and 4 gel batteries. In addition we have a 15 KW generator as support to the PV system and also allows us to run our 220-volt circuits and other large power surge items as needed. We also have an extra 6500-watt electric start generator that was the first generator we purchased a few years back, but I still keep as a backup and for use away from the house.

Wednesday morning, we woke to find the power was still out. I ran the generator in order to use our well and take care of other things at the house and then started to check on a few friends to see how they were making out. The first call was to find out if we had power in our fire station and was informed it too, was still out. I was not that concerned as we have a backup generator at the station and I knew everything would be ok. Next I spoke with another friend who I know has a back up generator at his home to make sure all was good at his home and he said all was good and he would be around if anyone needed help. I told him I had to work later in the afternoon, but I was going to go to the fire station and make sure everything was in order from the fire from the previous night.

While I was on the way to the station our county communications center called and informed us of additional wires and trees down in the township. We responded to assure everything was safe and then informed the residents there was nothing more we could do about the wires down, but wait for the power company to respond for the necessary repairs. We also informed them our fire station would be open if the should need water, medical assistance or had other emergencies. When I arrived at our station I found a few of our members were already there and had our backup generator running and made sure our communications system was operational. Throughout the day we assisted residents in the town as needed.

As I was getting ready to leave for home to get ready for work one of our members said he was still without power at his home and he was getting concerned about loosing the contents of his deep freeze and refrigerator. I offered him my back up generator to keep things going. He greatly appreciated it and I told him even though he did not have a transfer switch at this house we could run a few heavy duty power cords to the units and at least get him a few lights in his home for the night. (This is not a way I like to use a generator in a home, but I know this person well and know he would be there to keep an eye on things and knew how to safely use the generator.)

Wednesday evening, I am at work but continue to monitor the fire radio and keep contact with members of the department and the progress of the power company. At 8:30 p.m. my wife called to say power had been restored to our home. The power is restored to our fire station one hour later.

Thursday morning, I wake to do a few things around the house knowing I have to be at work today at noon. A quick telephone call to the fire station reveals part of the area is still without power. I tell them to contact me by radio or cell phone if there is any real emergency, as I needed to take care of a few things at our house before going to work at noon. The weather forecast called for another hot and humid day and I was thankful the power was back on, as I did not relish the thought of running the generator for the central air in the home. I did check the batteries and found they are all fully charged and the system appears to be in operating condition. This system allowed us to have the needed power in the home without the need to run a generator and spend money for fuel (and we all know the cost of fuel today!!!)

I also receive a telephone call from the member of the fire company who borrowed my back up generator, his power was now restored and he and his wife were thankful for the use of the generator. He also told me they were going to purchase a generator and transfer switch for their home. It is something they have talked about in the past, but this is the first time they had to deal with a power outage of any length during the summer months. In the past we have experienced power outages in the winter and they have a wood burner for heat and just placed the food in coolers on their porch. They now know how important it is to have a backup system evening if they do not run the generator 24 hours a day but just enough to keep things normal.
Many people when they first get a generator think they need to run it 24 hours a day during an outage. They soon discover this is not true and find the can survive just fine by running the unit just a few hours a day and planning to take care of their needs during the few hours it is running.

Thursday afternoon, I find myself at work and continue to keep abreast with the power situation. More and more homes are coming on line and the residents are beginning to get back to normal. At 5:30 p.m. I receive a call from the fire station telling me a resident has stopped by drinking water for his home. (We have extra bottled water on hand at our station and have been supplying the residents with it as they request.) He informs us there at still at least 30 homes without power and many people are having a major problem due to the lack of water for the bathrooms and cleaning. I tell him to check with the residents and inform them if the have water containers we will bring our tank truck to the area and provide water for the bathrooms and cleaning. I also contact a local donut shop and speak with the manager. I inform him of the situation and the need for water containers. In the past he has provided 5-gallon food quality buckets that they receive their pastry products. He had 25 empty buckets and I arranged to pick them up at the store. I then finished up my work and left work by 6:45 p.m. Stopping at the donut shop, I picked up the buckets and returned to our station. I met with other members and we were able to determine who was still in need of additional water, then filled and delivered the water to the residents. A member of the fire department also stated when they were speaking with the residents they found one of the local farmers had a generator at his home and had been providing water to his neighbors. He said if anyone needed water they could also come to his farm for help. With the water situation taken care of for the evening. I then contacted our regional Red Cross Office to replace the drinking water we had passed out over the last few days. I also spoke with our County Emergency Management Agency and made arrangements to have a water buffalo to be delivered to our station.

Friday morning, we find our members at the station providing assistance to the residents without power and making sure there is no emergency medical needs among these residents. Things are running as well as could be expected and we are told all power should be restored by Saturday. Through the day residents stop in for water and talk about the problems due to the lack of water and power in their homes. We discuss the need of having an emergency action plan and emergency supplies on hand. Some say they have them, others say the have read about it and planned to do something in the future, while still others seem to be completely in the dark and think this is just a one time event and it will be over soon. I stay at the station until 3:00 p.m. then go to work for the evening.

Saturday morning, as we wake we find it yet another humid morning and the weather forecast is calling for heavy rains and winds this evening. After taking care of a few things at home, I go to the fire station and check on the progress of the power outage. I am informed everyone should be back on by noon. During the morning a few residents stop back in for water and to talk. By 11:15 we are informed all power has been restored in our township and with a little luck things should get back to normal soon.

As I am returning home this afternoon, I tune into the weather radio to listen to a severe thunderstorm watch in effect with a forecast of winds up to 60 MPH this evening. I am sure, as the day turns to early evening this will change from a watch to a warning. We all hope we get through this next round without any serious problems.

Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. I find myself writing about the events of the past week and wonder how many people we spoke with have actually done something to prepare for the storm tonight. I do know some have begun to plan, as they asked if they could keep the water buckets for their homes. Some have picked up a few extra items for the house in the event they loose power again, and I do know of two families that have already purchased generators and plan to have the transfer switches installed as soon as an electrician is available.

As I sit hear typing I think yes it has happened again, and this is yet another wake up call to some, but to others……….