GUILDERLAND – The daily dinner ritual was not so routine for some Guilderland residents last Thursday, Aug. 3.

At around 6 p.m., a car driven by Maryann Fetzner struck a support wire for a utility pole on the corner of Siver Road and Willow Street that caused a power surge, casting darkness over 200 area homes.

Fetzner says that she blacked out which caused her vehicle to hit the pole, said Carol Lawlor, deputy chief of the Guilderland Police Department. There was no indication of any drug or alcohol involvement in the accident, she said.
Asked if Fetzner was being charged, Lawler said, "The accident is still under investigation."
"I was in the middle of dinner, when I heard what sounded like an accident, and at the same time I lost my lights," said local resident Doris Selig. Selig lives three houses up Willow Street from the corner where the accident took place. She looked out the window, and saw a car off the road. She then called 911, grabbed her camera, and went outside to see what was going on, she told The Enterprise this week.

The accident caused the top, high-voltage wire to fall and hit the secondary, lower wire, which caused a power surge, said Patrick Stella, a spokesperson for National Grid.

Stella explained that most utility poles carry two lines. The top line, he said, is a higher voltage line. The bottom line is a lower voltage wire, and is the line that carries power to residences.
For Selig, the outage was minor. "Actually, I got out of it very light," she said, "I got myself back in business with my generator."

Others were not so lucky. Stella told The Enterprise that National Grid had to replace 79 damaged meter boxes. When a meter box is damaged, equipment inside the house, such as refrigerators or computers, can be damaged.
It becomes a safety issue, he said, "We really don’t want to connect power to a home that has damage," Stella said. "We need to have an okay from an electrician that it is safe to hook up power."

Stella explained that the power company is responsible for the power lines up to and including the outdoor meter box. The homeowner is responsible for everything inside the house, he said.

Lawlor said, as far as the police department is aware, the costs to the homeowners should be covered by their insurance.

She said that in her 28 years with the department, she believes this to be the first accident of this kind with such widespread damage.

Response

Stella said that National Grid immediately sent representatives to the area to check on the extent of damage.

Thursday night, Guilderland Police, and emergency medical technicians went door-to-door in the area to be sure that residents were safe, and that no one needed medical attention, said the Guilderland police chief, James Murley.

Barbara Rau, a neighbor of Selig, had to have portable oxygen tanks brought in so that she could still get the oxygen she needed, The Enterprise was told by both Selig and Lawlor.

Stella said yesterday that all of the power lines have been repaired. Three residences remain without power; National Grid is waiting for word from an electrician that the homes have been inspected and are safe, before they can be hooked back up, he said.

The Guilderland Mobile Command Unit was sent to the scene and served as a command post for police and EMT’s, said Lawlor. The Command Unit provided lights and a place for people to go with their questions, and to get information about electricians in the area, and to fill out accident report paperwork, said Lawlor.
"National Grid worked very diligently as far as I’m concerned," said Chief Murley.