NO, JUST ANOTHER POWER CUT!

Next time the power goes off, spare a thought for our local fire officers and emergency service workers who may have been called out to deal with the emergency. Sometimes these can be unique experiences if a cold and extremely wet ANZAC Day night is anything to go by …
At around 4pm in the afternoon a large branch fell from a tree in Tunnel Road, Helensburgh, severing the main high voltage line and in turn cutting the domestic lines. When the Fire Brigade arrived, it was clear that the power needed to be cut off - it was pointed out that the switchboards on some of the houses were smoking! In fact these houses’ mains wires were smouldering.
CO2 extinguishers had to be used to cool switchboards and wiring. As things became rather hectic, other fire crews were called from local and surrounding areas, including as far as Engadine.This was an extremely dangerous situation, especially in view of the torrential rain that was falling.
Earlier on three boys had ridden down the road on their bikes, and locals had to stop them from riding over the live wires lying on the road.
Integral Energy were contacted urgently to cut the power to the whole area, which in effect saved the houses from possible total destruction.
Approximately 8 houses had their internal wiring badly damaged. This could have been much worse if the power hadn’t been cut quickly, as the problem was spreading to other houses in the street.
Everyone involved was amazed at what had happened. One firefighter said that in his 16 years experience, he had never seen such a situation arise from a branch falling from a tree! He praised the residents in Tunnel Road for their willingness to help in a difficult situation and for supporting each other in this emergency.
Let’s hope this is our last amazing experience for quite some time!