Power Crews Set Up Shop At Haddam Firehouse

Northeast Utilities started setting up a field-coordination center at the Station #1 firehouse in Haddam Tuesday.

The NU facility will serve as a hub for both local and out-of-state line crews that have descended on Haddam and the surrounding towns to help restore power to the region after it was battered by Hurricane Irene.

The firehouse will also serve as a support facility and a place to get a hot meal and grab some rest for the crews, which have been working 16-hour days to help restore electricity.

Fire officials are asking that residents use caution around the firehouse, since traffic from both trucks and emergency vehicles may be significant. They are requesting that residents leave the first 10 spaces in the lower lot clear so they are available to first-responders in the event of an emergency call.

More tips from Bob Norton, public information liaison for the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co.:

• While the power is coming back, please continue to treat all downed lines as if they were live. 
• For those still without power, please make sure you are not creating a fire hazard by leaving candles unattended even for a minute.
• Make sure if you are running a generator or other power equipment, it is outside – not in the basement or garage. 
• Make sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are running on batteries – those plugged into the wall will not give you protection while the power is out.
• Please do not dial 911 to check on power status, and do not call the fire house – go through the Northeast Utilities customer service lines as they have the most accurate information available.  To find out the remaining outages in town, text outage 06441 or outage 06438 to 24612. You will get a message as to how many outages remain.

For more information on the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and how you can get involved, check out www.haddamfire.com.