No Generators Left at Local Hardware Stores

Generators are selling like hotcakes and it's no wonder as local residents are preparing for Hurricane Irene, which is predicted to hit New England with high winds and heavy rain sometime Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Local resident Jessica Bessell has called everywhere looking for a generator but they are all gone, according to several nearby stores, including  in South Attleboro and Lowes. 

"My husband called me on Tuesday to get a generator," Bessell said. "Wednesday, I realized this storm was really coming. So we called the in South Attleboro. They said they didn't have any left."

"I also called Lowe's and Home Depot and they said they didn't have any," she said.  

"My girlfriend's son, who is 4 years old and lives in Cranston, has Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy-18), needs a machine at night to breath, and she was going crazy looking for a generator," Bessell said. "Thankfully, people that knew her gave up their own generator for her son."

Bessell thought she had some luck when Lowes in Plainville said they were getting an emergency shipment Thursday night. "This morning I called back and they said they got the truck load and sold them right off the truck," she said Friday afternoon. 

When the stock of generators ran out, customers purchased the displays, according to Bessell. "We tried buying the display from Lowe's in North Attleboro (arranged it over the phone), but by the time we got there it was sold."

A clerk at Lowes in Plainville said they would not be getting any additional generators before the storm.