Updated: Live, Slack Wires Keep Cranston Preschool Closed

Updated 9:10 p.m.: We didn't get a call from National Grid, but a reader sent us an e-mail letting us know she saw several trucks at the pole this afternoon a short time after we originally posted this story.

Having power doesn't necessarily mean your Hurricane Irene problems are solved.

At on Woodbine Street, wires leading from a bent electrical pole hang about a foot from a piece of play equipment where students at this preschool would otherwise be playing. The school has been closed since Monday despite the fact the power never went out. 

The pole itself is leaning precariously away from the street, casting a long shadow over the playground in the early September noon sun. It isn't lined up to hit the school, but it's leaning close enough for owner Jay Colgan and his staff and parents to worry.

"I just can't believe how dangerous it is," Colgan said. "We've called countless times — I feel like I've called 10 times a day to get someone out there before it falls."

Ordinarily, the situation would call for an instant response, Colgan said. It's not in a rural area. There are children involved.

"The staff was thinking they'd be out to fix it the next day."

Parents arrived with their children on Tuesday morning thinking the pole would be fixed. They waited, people were walking around it.

It was Cranston Police who first reported the damaged pole, labeled no. 14. Colgan said someone from City Hall placed an urgent call on National Grid's line reserved for municipalities and told the utility that the pole could fall at any time.

A sign was taped to the pole by Colgan telling National Grid to call him if they needed anything from people at the school.

So far, no response.

"I guess it shows you how inundated they are," Colgan said.

A call was placed to National Grid requesting a spokesperson for this story. This story will be updated soon.