Finally Got Power, Heat, Hot-Water Back

[Afraz]

Hey Folks,

 

After the initial ice storm that caused mayhem we didn't have power, heat, hot water till today. Finally the work got done on our condo much to the relief of over 200 Unit Owners at our condo.

 

To think it would take this long to regain basic utilities in such a developed country with so many resources.

 

So many questions left un-answered, as to who is to be held to account for this ? All the people that got pneumonia and terribly sick from the cold, the over 20 robberies that took place during this period of time.

 

Just until yesterday, folks were using water from the swimming pool to flush their toilets - felt like it was a 3rd world country.

 

Its finally over, or so i hope :/

 

Afraz

[Big Cliff]

Do you mean from the original storm before Christmas until now without any hydro? If so, that is just nuts!

[bigugli]

Hey Folks,

 

After the initial ice storm that caused mayhem we didn't have power, heat, hot water till today. Finally the work got done on our condo much to the relief of over 200 Unit Owners at our condo.

 

To think it would take this long to regain basic utilities in such a developed country with so many resources.

 

 

 

Just until yesterday, folks were using water from the swimming pool to flush their toilets - felt like it was a 3rd world country.

 

Its finally over, or so i hope :/

 

Afraz

The bigger and more complex our world becomes, the more difficult it becomes to return to normal after a weather event. In a major city, close to half the infrastructure is outdated or beyond capacity.

After the Quebec ice storm, hydro crews were still busy repairing the damage 6 weeks later. 2 and 3 years after Katrina they were still rebuilding.

 

Sadly, living in a low rise or high rise leaves you with very few options for emergency preparations.

[T-Bone]

Huh? Who is to be held accountable?

 

Let's see...if you're religious I suppose you can blame God. If not, blame Mother Nature. I can't see how "someone" is to blame...it's an act of God/Nature.

 

Yeah...it's not good it took this long to restore your utilities, but the blame there is on the utility companies for putting you lower on the priority list. After all, they can only work so fast. Not sure how it works, but can your condo unit be rigged with a back-up power source? That could be an option for the future.

 

And pneumonia and sickness is caused by viruses and bacteria...not cold. Those that got sick would have likely become sick anyway; there is the chance the lack of water to bathe in made a better environment to spread viruses and bacteria. Though, I believe, antibacterial hand gel is widely available to mitigate that risk.

 

The effect of a natural disaster is unpredictable but clearly can cause enormous hardship. I just can't see how anyone is to blame...and events like this certainly can't be controlled. I believe it's incumbent upon each of us to prepare in advance of whatever is coming next.

 

I've been there, and it's not fun. I guess sometimes you have to just chalk it up to 'live and learn'. That's what life's about anyway, right?

[lew]

T-Bone, I think that's possibly the best reply to any thread I've ever seen posted on this board....well said my man !!

[fishnsled]

I know of a person without power for 17 days. The complaint from them was not about who is accountable, but how many of these tree removal services became crooks by jacking their prices through the roof and taking advantage of a situation. Pretty sad. They finally found a company that kept some sense about themselves and were still doing the work at a fair price. Nice to know that there are some decent people out there, certainly lots of them here.

 

I think this ice storm was an eye opener for many. We've been told many times that we should have an emergency supply kit on hand and a plan in place if you have to evacuate. I wonder how many have this in place? I know that I could be better prepared for a grab and go situation. I think T-Bone covered it pretty well too. Look out for yourself, your family and friends.

 

A good time for all of us to review this.

 

http://www.emergencymanagementontario.ca/english/beprepared/makeakit/makeakit.html

[porkpie]

 

I think this ice storm was an eye opener for many. We've been told many times that we should have an emergency supply kit on hand and a plan in place if you have to evacuate. I wonder how many have this in place? I know that I could be better prepared for a grab and go situation. I think T-Bone covered it pretty well too. Look out for yourself, your family and friends.

 

A good time for all of us to review this.

 

http://www.emergencymanagementontario.ca/english/beprepared/makeakit/makeakit.html

 

 

It certainly made me rethink my already thought out plan a bit, and caused me to spend a bit more dough, but I'll be that much better off than I would have been otherwise the next time an event like this crops up! Who to blame? Well, I think Tbone summed it up nicely!

[captpierre]

Still, you deserve a medal for going thru that crap.

 

Can't imagine it.

[Big Cliff]

T-Bone, you are one smart person! That was probably one of the best replies to any thread I have ever read!

[Old Ironmaker]

It's human nature to place blame. Cavewoman blamed cavemen for not bagging dinner, cavemen blamed the guy in the next cave for having a sharper spear. T Bone posted some great thoughts, top 10 post for sure.

 

Some were hit badly by this storm, it didn't effect us in the least. Only luck I suppose. They suffer these types of outages regularly in the coastal states in the US. They are still recovering and some displaced from there homes due to Super Storm Sandy over a year latter. We were in the Keys in January 07 and saw front yards full of garbage and furniture and there were telephone linesmen from the north staying at the fish camp we were at still working at restoring services. That was 15 months after the hurricane hit them. The locals say you never get used to it just more prepared.

 

One suggestion would be to have a back up system for that condo complex. It will never happen due to the many thousands in costs. Next month we will have forgotten about this until the next time it happens. Otherwise I would have added more insulation to that wall where my water line froze Monday, it freezes every year! There I know where the blame lays, cold weather not me.

[Fisherman]

Maybe all the tree huggers in the city will now understand you don't plant tree's under power lines and when it comes time for trimming, get on with it.

[Rod Caster]

Unless there was some kind of gross negligence, there's no one to hold accountable...

 

Regardless, it couldn't have been easy that many days without services. Glad it's back to normal for you. It'll make us appreciate what we have when things run smoothly.

 

You didn't light up a charcoal stove in your condo for heat did you???

[Headhunter]

Can't imagine going that long in these temps! Happy for you it's finally resolved.

Here's something that has been bugging me since the storm...

Why is it that hydro was lost for so many, yet the Bell lines, which share the same poles didn't go down?

I heard a Bell tech on the radio saying they had less then 5% outage of the Bell lines...

Does Bell run stronger lines?

I just don't get it... hopefully someone here can enlighten me!

HH

[Afraz]

Do you mean from the original storm before Christmas until now without any hydro? If so, that is just nuts!

Yes Sir !!!

 

 

 

You didn't light up a charcoal stove in your condo for heat did you???

 

NOT ONE OF THOSE HAHA

 

 

 

There was a backup generator that failed, i was n B1 when the power went out initially. Heard the generator start off with a boom, ran for maybe 1 or 2 mins then everything went dark permanently for 2 weeks, until an external diesel generator was brought in by a contractor. Sat outside on a trailer.

 

Power went out, pipes froze, lines burst. Everything flooded, once the boilers were turned back on via external generator. Flooded waters went from lobby into electrical room, which is directly under lobby.

 

Red cross showed up handing out blankets, and told everyone to use the community center for showers and w.e

 

Our neighbors had their unit sold, now they are suing the Corporation, along with the guys who live below us, class action lawsuit or something along those lines.

 

One of the engineers that was working the night shift mentioned mismanagement over a long period of time in ensuring the piping was up to date and could withstand emergencies such as this.

 

As to why we had to wait for the city inspector to show up and give the go ahead to hydro to switch on the power for 3 weeks baffles me.

 

Management and the board blames owners, for not paying a high enough maintenance fee, which would have ensured enough money was available to make the necessary changes to building infrastructure.

 

On another note, the building was publicized on City News, CTV and a few other outlets. Wonder what this does for unit values. Knowing one owner who was fuming, because their Realtor denied continuing to offer his services in selling the unit.

 

When i approached management an asked why there weren't any contingency plans in place for such events, they mentioned it was unforeseen.

 

WHO KNEW IF THERE COULD BE AN ICE STORM IN CANADA ???

 

Lmao..

[Meely]

There is an old acronym I learned a while back when I worked in crisis management/preparedness......

 

It was called "YOYO 72"

 

Yer on yer own for 72 hours....... be prepared....have enuff stuff on hand for at least 72 hours.

 

Meely

[irishfield]

Bell lines don't short out Joe.... 50 volts DC or there abouts all inside a nice multiwire cable. Unless it breaks.. no issue. Hydro lines on the other hand... ice.. = water = direct short from live to neutral and why the blue sky Joey saw before the transformers start blowing. The wires don't have to come down to lose the grid. Even on the ground the bell lines keep working.. power not so well. Why everyone should have an old direct dial phone in the drawer somewhere.. for when the power is out and bell still works but your cordless phone won't. Power out.. cell don't work either!

Edited January 9, 2014 by irishfield

[Old Ironmaker]

Afrax, you said

 

" One of the engineers that was working the night shift mentioned mismanagement over a long period of time in ensuring the piping was up to date and could withstand emergencies such as this."

 

I've seen lines in the plant split by ice that were schedule 80. That's thick. I don't know of any commercial water supply lines that will withstand a freeze. Not all split your just lucky if they don't. Only heat tracing will protect any water line. Pex line is less likely to split as they give a bit, but they will.

 

Some contingency should have been put in place to assume the lines will split once heat was restored or once it was obvious a freeze would have occurred the system should have been drained and isolated. Simply by opening one valve to drain to sewer may have saved the system from freezing. Too simple to plan ahead.

 

The first thing we do here in the country is drain my system once the heat has been off and the fireplace can't keep the outside wall in the kitchen warm enough. We don't have water without Hydro anyway so now I close 1 valve and open 1 valve as soon as power is lost or heat can't keep up, like Mondays freeze.

 

You may be able to do this in your condo as well unless your line feeds downstream to others.

 

Now that I'm retired I do mentor those in failure analysis. FEMA. I'm available occasionally unless I'm fishing. Almost forgot this is a fishing forum.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Old Ironmaker