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story category Overweight Comcast Tech Breaks Utility Pole
67-year old widow almost winds up without power...
(old news - 05:04PM Tuesday Jan 27 2009)
tags: business · cable · Oddities · Comcast
Tipped by RCNgato See Profile
Roughly a dozen people have sent in this rather strange Chicago Tribune story about a Comcast cable visit that starts with an overweight Comcast technician accidentally snapping a utility pole (albeit a partially rotten one). It goes downhill from there, with efforts to get the utility pole fixed almost resulting in the customer (a 67-year-old widow) getting their power turned off, after Comcast, the customer and the local utility play the blame game over who's responsible for fixing the pole. It all ends well, thanks to the local news channel's consumer gripeline and Comcast, who was ultimately willing to eat the cost of replacing the pole.

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Forums » Overweight Comcast Tech Breaks Utility Pole
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast

It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

She is lucky she wasn't sued by the Comcast tech for injury for maintaining a rotten pole.

A ComEd employee came out in January, assessed the situation and told her she owned the pole. Because it was privately owned, there was nothing the electric company could do. Her homeowner's insurance told her it would not pay anything because the pole was so old, and apparently had been rotting from the inside.

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Austinloop

join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

It seems obvious to me (once a foreman of an outside crew in telecommunications) that several things went wrong with this, all centered on Comcast. If a technician is overweight, he needs to be weighed to determine what type of climbing gear he can use. I believe the strongest ladder will support 325 lbs of technician and equipment. (my numbers may be off, it has been a while since I read the specs). Climbers (hooks, gaffs) have similar limitations. So there may be a supervisory error here.

Further, technicians should test the pole prior to climbing, by using a pole prod, sounding the pole (hitting it with a hammer), and a couple of other tests can be done, so here we have either a willful deviation from safety practices, or supervisory error in not properly training the individual.

Just my .02 from my outside plant days.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

While I agree with a lot of what you're saying with weight limitations and all... but ask yourself, before you get too far into yourself there... when was the last time you ever "tested a pole"... other than a quick visual.

What we have here, pretty simple in my observation, is a pole that needed to be replaced and a simple accident.

It's the EQUIPMENT that needs to be rated for safety and I know guys in the 300 lb range working safely.. POLES can most certainly handle 325 pounds...
Austinloop

join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

Not in the last 2 years, I am retired. I realize that some don't test poles, that is their decision, it was my decision, if I caught someone not testing a pole to take disciplinary action. I personally know of people who have died because of not taking an extra 5 minutes to make sure all is well before climbing. Again, the tools were provided, not using them is a deliberate act on their part.

I would disagree with your observation, that this is a simple accident, it was caused by not testing the pole.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20


2 edits

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

The ONLY thing that is required of pole testing is by using an FED for foreign current. Testing the quality or strength of a pole isn't done more than eying them. I mean, I can look at a pole and see that it's small, gaffed to hell, and chips away when I sneeze at it.

But, having worked for both Cable, and telephone. (PacBell, a major player) and having been in a few systems, and gone through over 15 years of training programs, pole testing has been the extend of how to climb it safely, and how to check for foreign voltage. And it's not "some" don't test.. it's MOST. (again, that's FV, ...that is outside of power guys.)

I guess we have to agree to disagree then. I'll leave it there becuase anything else will sound like an insult no matter how I try to say it.
Austinloop

join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX

1 edit

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

Well, whatever, however pole prods and sounding poles were trained and expected in SWB. I really have no idea what PacBell did, nor do I really care.

I was an outside foreman for around 24 years.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by Austinloop See Profile :

I was an outside foreman for around 24 years.
Well, that explains much of your post. I guess this is turning into a pissing contest. I think when you pass a certain point with time in. 15 years or 24 years doesn't really matter. But, if this does help, I was generally mostly in supervisory position. (We stopped calling them foreman positions a long time ago and called them leads and supervisors in all the shops I ever worked in)

So, in the systems I worked in, being PacBell, Comcast, Scripts Howard, AT&T, and Time Warner, none of them trained on pole testing.. I guess it's based on the system you work.

Either way.. the pole broke and a news story was posted here on a forum.. slow news day I guess.

idjk

@embarqhsd.net

Unless it looked real good I always at least gave the pole a good smack with my line hammer to catch the tone of the wood, also always look at ground wire. I was telco and often there was no power above but you never know about down the line--I really like to hook but that was long ago.

its me again

@comcast.net

said by fiberguy See Profile :

While I agree with a lot of what you're saying with weight limitations and all... but ask yourself, before you get too far into yourself there... when was the last time you ever "tested a pole"... other than a quick visual.

What we have here, pretty simple in my observation, is a pole that needed to be replaced and a simple accident.

It's the EQUIPMENT that needs to be rated for safety and I know guys in the 300 lb range working safely.. POLES can most certainly handle 325 pounds...
yeah, but would it want to?

james

join:2001-02-26
antarctica

said by Austinloop See Profile :

If a technician is overweight, he needs to be weighed to determine what type of climbing gear he can use.
That would have done nothing in this case. The pole was rotten and not functioning within specs, so all the calculations and weighing in the world wouldn't have helped.
Austinloop

join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

I never said that the weight check would have did anything in this case, but it is a responsibility of management to determine if the individual has safe equipment to do his job.

Further, as I said the technician, apparently, made a deliberate effort to bypass safety procedures, as I told fiberguy. The technician pretty much caused this, he should not have climbed the pole.

Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium
join:2001-11-29
Erie, PA

I'm still trying to figure out where anyone is justified in calling this guy a tub of lard. His weight only seems to have been brought into this situation because of his attempt at humor (picked up by the reporter) after a situation where he broke something and probably got the shirt scarred out of him.

It's a utility pole, considering that it used to support a whole tree I don't think any human with the ability to climb said pole would weigh enough for it to actually be a safety concern.
--
Come let us reason together.

GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
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Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by Combat Chuck See Profile :

I'm still trying to figure out where anyone is justified in calling this guy a tub of lard. His weight only seems to have been brought into this situation because of his attempt at humor (picked up by the reporter) after a situation where he broke something and probably got the shirt scarred out of him.
It is because the groupthink here is that anyone who works for a corporation is automatically an evil, consumer hating oppressor who is wrong in everything they do. Facts shall not intrude on the programmed hatred.
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cpal

join:2002-07-10
Herndon, VA

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by GOLFnSUN See Profile :

said by Combat Chuck See Profile :

I'm still trying to figure out where anyone is justified in calling this guy a tub of lard. His weight only seems to have been brought into this situation because of his attempt at humor (picked up by the reporter) after a situation where he broke something and probably got the shirt scarred out of him.
It is because the groupthink here is that anyone who works for a corporation is automatically an evil, consumer hating oppressor who is wrong in everything they do. Facts shall not intrude on the programmed hatred.
TK, your amusing hyperbole notwithstanding, I believe your posts invariably contribute to that viewpoint...

digitalfreak

join:2005-12-09
49533

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by cpal See Profile :

said by GOLFnSUN See Profile :

said by Combat Chuck See Profile :

I'm still trying to figure out where anyone is justified in calling this guy a tub of lard. His weight only seems to have been brought into this situation because of his attempt at humor (picked up by the reporter) after a situation where he broke something and probably got the shirt scarred out of him.
It is because the groupthink here is that anyone who works for a corporation is automatically an evil, consumer hating oppressor who is wrong in everything they do. Facts shall not intrude on the programmed hatred.
TK, your amusing hyperbole notwithstanding, I believe your posts invariably contribute to that viewpoint...
QFT
Austinloop

join:2001-08-19
Austin, TX

Chuck, since you replied to me, I will answer. I do not recall calling the guy a tub of lard. I discussed actions that management should take if the individual was overweight.
If I said he was a tub of lard, please provide link.

Utility poles are of all ages and conditions, depending on the local environment. Poles that have been there for many years may be so hard on the outside that it is very difficult to use climbers to climb. I know of one incident in town where a person was on a pole and removed an attachment, the pole lost support from the cable, etc. and broke. Unfortunately the man on the pole rode it to the ground, and even more unfortunately, he was between the ground and the pole when the pole impacted the ground.

Poles do rot, in anyway you can think of, and normally at ground level and cannot support the weight of a person. Your not thinking that any human would wight enough...etc. was not agreed to by the company I worked for, which required pole testing prior to climbing.

Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium
join:2001-11-29
Erie, PA

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by Austinloop See Profile :

Chuck, since you replied to me, I will answer. I do not recall calling the guy a tub of lard. I discussed actions that management should take if the individual was overweight.
What I'm saying is that there's no real reason to worry about him being abnormally overweight, as there's nothing substantial to say he was or wasn't short of a self deprecating joke he made to the customer. The issue is a rotten pole and a worker who didn't think to check for the condition.

The weight issue was used as a subliminal cue in the article to give you a bad guy (at the very least you know the reporters view of who the bad guy was). All Reference to his weight short of what he actually said should have been removed by an editor, but emotion sells, and newspapers are hurting so anything goes.

If you read most of the other stuff over there it's pretty much the same thing, newsatorials.
--
Come let us reason together.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME

Comcast tech wasn't in California
I'm sure they would try to sure out here.

I could see it now...

-Comcast tech injured on customer property - sues customer
-Edison (SCE) cuts power to home, replaces pole, then sends a bill to the customer for the work ($6,000 = $20,000 in California... need to update to new green standards )
-Homeowner suffers heartattack over lawsuits
-Owner sues SCE and Comcast over medical bills - loses house and job in the process due to expenses.

Lawyers make money, house is repo'd
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major marco
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Stepford, CA
clubs:

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by en102 See Profile :

I could see it now...

-Comcast tech injured on customer property - sues customer
-Edison (SCE) cuts power to home, replaces pole, then sends a bill to the customer for the work ($6,000 = $20,000 in California... need to update to new green standards )
-Homeowner suffers heartattack over lawsuits
-Owner sues SCE and Comcast over medical bills - loses house and job in the process due to expenses.

Don't be silly. Fatso the field tech would sue SCE, the homeowner and Comcast for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and otherwise not having the appropriate weight bearing equipment to accommodate his wide load ass.
--
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en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

Probably less likely on the homeowner - unless the homeowner lived in an expensive neighborhood. Then again - if it was on the customers property (typically utility poles are on city ROW)

Spatch
Stugots
Premium
join:2001-06-29
Savannah, GA
You break it, you buy it!
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: It was her rotten utility pole - she owned it

said by Spatch See Profile :

You break it, you buy it!
Cute.. but what do you think this is? Wal-Mart?

Eat Me

join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

Fat techs

not fat pipes! LOL!

pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
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Sacramento, CA
clubs:

pole?

privately owned? OK Commonwealth Edison, where is my back rent for "Using MY pole"? here is the NEW contract ($xxx.xx per month for pole usage, etc..) for you to sign..

swintec
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Alfred, ME
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Re: pole?

I know here in Maine...if you need several poles since you are away from the road a far distance...the home owner foots the bill, and it is not cheap. The good thing is, if more houses are put up along the driveway/private road and the most ideal situation is for the new owners to use the poles YOU already paid thousands for, you will get some money back from the power company for your investment.
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NormanS
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join:2001-02-14
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·Pacific Bell - SBC

said by pokesph See Profile :

privately owned? OK Commonwealth Edison, where is my back rent for "Using MY pole"? here is the NEW contract ($xxx.xx per month for pole usage, etc..) for you to sign..
The poles along the backyards where I currently live are owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. However, in areas with larger lots than typical suburban lots, getting aerial utilities to the premises may involve customer owned poles.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
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jwersan
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said by pokesph See Profile :

privately owned? OK Commonwealth Edison, where is my back rent for "Using MY pole"? here is the NEW contract ($xxx.xx per month for pole usage, etc..) for you to sign..
I agree with you, unless this was a single use pole, in that the ONLY wires being run on it were to service her house, I too would be looking for BACK rental payments from all the utilities!

I have a pole in my backyard, and AFAIAC, it is the phone companies/electric companies pole, and NOT mine.

If anyone was to tell me it was in fact mine, they would be hearing from a lawyer about back rental payments owed...
--
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NormanS
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join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC

Re: pole?

I had ten acres of land, with a residence, in the rural town of Sheridan, western Placer county, California. A church bought a five acre plot adjacent to my property. PG&E informed me that the church wanted to tap the transformer on a pole on my property, and that I had to give permission for it. I am not sure if that was because the pole was on my land, or because I owned it. I am not there now, so I can't check the deed, or documents, to figure it out. There was a pole directly behind the residence, which had the service panel on it, and the drop from the transformer, as well as telco.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

That is called a "DROP POLE" or a "BUMP POLE" .. and they don't carry taps, j-boxes, transformers, etc. They simply are a jump point for a drop that will usually sag too far from the pole to the house,.. or to keep the needed height up, or as a way to cross the street, etc. Basically, it's up the owner to put one in.. others will usually go what's called "Over head to under-ground" where the service is taken down the side of a pole and trenched to the home the rest of the way.

jt7

@comcast.net
they have the right to pu a pole on your land. its call Easement right. you have to agree to easements rigth in order to buy a house. at least in california you do.

Eat Me

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Sussex, NJ
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Re: pole?

said by jt7 :

they have the right to pu a pole on your land. its call Easement right. you have to agree to easements rigth in order to buy a house. at least in california you do.
Utility easements may be restricted to certain areas on your property. I don't think they can put a pole in the middle of your living room, for example.
number_one

join:2001-11-30
Midlothian, VA
·Verizon FIOS

What's at issue is not whether they have the right to put a pole on your property, but whether they own the pole or if you do. Easements provide a utility workspace for their equipment on your property. An easement does not mean that you own the equipment.

mole2

join:2000-12-08
Longs, SC
No problem son. I'm taking my wire and going home. When you want service it will cost you the price to rent the pole PLUS the electricity charge. Thank you and call again.


no_one

@QWEST.NET

Sounds as if it was a private pole.

May not have been the same as a normal one. Plus it was rotted. Though that needs testing before climbing.

Rogue Wolf
Ate The Last Of The Pumpkin Pie

join:2003-08-12
Troy, NY
·RoadRunner Cable

"Privately owned"?

How did ComEd come to the conclusion that this woman "owned" the telephone pole? I'm certain she wasn't given any sort of compensation by any utility company for the use of "her" pole. It's a pity that someone had to get the press involved for a situation that was not this woman's fault in any way, but I can give Comcast some kudos for stepping up to pay the cost of replacing the pole.

Just a side note, though- the $6,000 cost mentioned was actually quoted by ComEd as the cost to bury the wires, as contractors told the woman it was too cold to replace the pole.
--
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See 6 replies to this post

no_one

@QWEST.NET

Missed bad words as pole broke,

If the customer had been there as pole broke would have heard some fun words too. A bad joke on weight is nothing.

cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

Why should Comcast pay?

Yeah it sucks that the homeowner is on the hook for the bill, but why should Comcast be expected to foot the bill? Yes the tech falling may have caused it, but if a tech falling was enough to break it then it wasn't a structurally sound pole to begin with.

Comcast gets a little bit of positive karma for footing the bill, but if I was the homeowner I would go to my insurance company and as WTF am I paying for if you don't cover something old. I would imagine that the house is as old if not older as the telephone pole, so maybe when a claim is filed on the house they'll come back with "sorry, your house is too old and isn't covered" as well.
gmoney_indy

join:2004-01-29
Fishers, IN

Re: Why should Comcast pay?

Apparently you haven't read thru a property insurance policy before. The Ins. Co. didn't owe anything on this. They don't pay for wear and tear, deterioration, or anything that is rotting/failing due to lack of maintenance. They only pay for direct physical damage caused by an act of god or some un-preventable event (i.e. truck runs into the pole). It sucks but that's the way they all operate these days.

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Oh good greif.

"(a 67-year-old widow)" This has what to do with the problem?

See 10 replies to this post

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus

join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY
·Qwest.net


1 edit

What a bunch of horse crap

In Wyoming the utilities are responsible for these poles. and are required to check them every ten years or so. they are marked with a nail that has the year of the test. If they need to be replaced it is out of their pockets. This is in the cities, or at least what passes for cities in Wyoming. In the country side it is a little different you will get charged for a new power run, but even then the rural electric outfit Touch Stone, is responsible for the poles.
--
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hottboiinnc
ME

join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

Re: What a bunch of horse crap

same here. Each pole that is owned by Toledo Energy/First Energy is tagged. Plus their lines are at the top. Cable has smaller poles and are tagged with "Buckeye Cable" usually only in areas that TE/FE won't share poles with them.

PeteC2
Got Mouse?
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join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs:
·AT&T Yahoo

Much ado about nothing

First, yes, you may as a property owner, own, and be responsible for utility poles on your property. This varies from state to state, but is not at all uncommon.

Second, as a previous poster mentioned, so what if the propery owner is a 67 year old woman? What if the property belonged to a 42 year old man...would that mean anything in terms of who owed what?

If the pole was rotten, the pole was rotten, quite regardless whether or not the technician was overweight.

It was decent that Comcast did pay the costs of fixing the issue, however, IMHO, although it was a decent thing to do, Comcast was not under any obligation to do so.

All's well that ends well, but who really cares? must've been a slow news day at the time...
--
Deeds, not words
Mr Matt

join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
·Comcast
·Embarq

What do Utility Poles have in common with Cell Phones?

Apparently a utility pole and a cell phone have one thing in common. If you want to use a Cell Phone/Utility Pole for anything, except that which the Wireless Company/Utility Company approves, they will claim it as their property and they will make every effort to stop you from using it. On the other hand if it breaks, it is your property and you must pay to replace it.
bogey780

join:2004-03-19
Here

Re: What do Utility Poles have in common with Cell Phones?

No, not at all. It doesn't work that way.

rotten

@bellsouth.net

pole rot?

I didn't know these poles could rot considering they are supposed to be petrified which is why it's extrememly hard for all those cheap ads to stay stuck on poles because the scum that hung up the ads couldn't get a nail into the pole.

kpfx

join:2005-10-28
Kerrville, TX
·RoadRunner Cable


1 edit

Re: pole rot?

Heh... made me chuckle there. If it was "petrified" that would mean the pole is made of stone...

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified

Utility poles are just regular wood. While heavily treated and often covered in tar and other nasty protective gunk they'll still rot and need to be replaced every few decades.

james

join:2001-02-26
antarctica

Re: pole rot?

said by kpfx See Profile :

Heh... made me chuckle there. If it was "petrified" that would mean the pole is made of stone...
Maybe he went to the "big city" and saw the cement poles.
I can picture it now... "OOooo Ellie may! Wouldja lookit that! These telly-graph poles must be over a hundred years old! Look! They gone done become petrified!"

wev567

join:2006-02-25
Pittsburgh, PA

said by rotten :

I didn't know these poles could rot...
There are many serviceable 50, 60, or 70 year old poles out there, and there are occasionally 10 year old poles that are totally unsafe. Around here, the life span of a pole is considered to be about 25-30 years. And it's up to the tech to decide if a pole is safe to climb.

iiiuuuyyyoomeme

@comcast.net

Rotten Pole

I was a Comcast contractor for several years and everyone thought I was crazy and wasting a lot of time because I ALWAYS used my 28 footer to get to the tap. I only climbed the pole if it was to hard to get my ladder to it. I felt more safe on my ladder than I did on the pole because the pole was verticle and the ladder provided a slight angle. Plus a lot of times the damn tap was 10 or 15 feet out from the pole anyway making it neccessary to have to use the ladder. Even still.. in ladder training I rememebr the supervisor telling us to SMACK the pole and listen for a deep THUD because it could be rotten. STUPID tech!


hw

@myvzw.com

Aww man that's rough

Man that's rough for that tech, he probably won't live that one down for a bit. A rotten pole's a rotten pole. Overweight or not he couldn't be TOO out of shape if he was planning to climb a utility pole. It didn't really occur to me that they'd rot out, the ones around here (Iowa City, IA) look like they'd hold about a thousand pounds and appear to be treated.

I would think P&E should replace the pole, it's a maintenance issue if the pole is that rotten, but either way it's good they got it sorted out for her.
lvlorpheus

join:2008-02-17
Eureka Springs, AR

Breaking Utility Poles!

I had to share this because of this article. It is a bit off topic.

"1-27-09, 6:00 p.m. update:
As ice continues to build up on the ground and trees, Carroll Electric is finding 1/2 - 3/4 inch build-up on the power lines themselves, causing spans to go down and breaking poles as they topple. In the Cooperative's Jasper district alone, OVER 100 BROKEN POLES have been identified, with inital assessments not yet complete."

»www.carrollecc.com/content.cfm?id=2041

This could be a good winter for all of you cable linemen subs. O wait, what am I saying? This is rural America we don't get cable internet.

Bobcat
Volvo sucks donkey balls
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ

Re: Breaking Utility Poles!

100 broken poles? That's nothing. In Quebec's 1998 ice storm, they had over 35,000 broken poles!
gpatrick900

join:2008-08-30
New Castle, IN


2 edits

She is not responsible

I assume they mean Plainfield, Indiana.

The reason I say this. I am not positive but I think Indiana law says you are not responsible for anything that is outside of your home.

By the way, the electric company could not disconnect until after March 15. Her bill is paid and in the winter months they are not allowed to disconnect power. Safety reasons

As far as burying the lines. An ATT tech I know, told me companies can do that free for their customers.

djdanska
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Glen Ellyn, IL
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Re: She is not responsible

said by gpatrick900 See Profile :

I assume they mean Plainfield, Indiana.

The reason I say this. I am not positive but I think Indiana law says you are not responsible for anything that is outside of your home.

By the way, the electric company could not disconnect until after March 15. Her bill is paid and in the winter months they are not allowed to disconnect power. Safety reasons

As far as burying the lines. An ATT tech I know, told me companies can do that free for their customers.
If she is served by comed, then i would bet it's plainfield, IL as that is both served by comcast and comed.

nunya
SEE ROCK CITY 475 MILES
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
clubs:
·AT&T CallVantage

Your title is total B.S.
"Spot" poles (aka "Bump" poles) are very common and quite often "subscriber owned". Many of these poles were placed decades ago and the property ownership has changed. The subscriber is responsible for their upkeep and replacement.

Any utility may opt to relocate their services to buried if it suits them and the customer isn't charged.

The power company can disconnect service off of the broken pole any time they see fit. It's a public danger.

Kudos to Comcrap for biting the bullet and replacing the pole even though they didn't have to.
--
Looks like Reverend Wright got his wish - God Damn America.
gpatrick900

join:2008-08-30
New Castle, IN


1 edit

Re: She is not responsible

said by nunya See Profile :

"Spot" poles (aka "Bump" poles) are very common and quite often "subscriber owned". Many of these poles were placed decades ago and the property ownership has changed. The subscriber is responsible for their upkeep and replacement.

Any utility may opt to relocate their services to buried if it suits them and the customer isn't charged.

The power company can disconnect service off of the broken pole any time they see fit. It's a public danger.

Kudos to Comcrap for biting the bullet and replacing the pole even though they didn't have to.
Illinois may be different than Indiana. From what I heard on the news, you are not responsible for outside wiring and that would include polls. For the water, gas and electric, it is where the meter is connected. For the phone it is where the box is on the house is connected.

I would consider it is a danger to have power turned off in the winter. No to mention ruining their food. Some states do have laws that prevent power companies from turning off power in the winter-with an exception of weather and some maintenance but only for a short time.

nunya
SEE ROCK CITY 475 MILES
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
clubs:
·AT&T CallVantage

Re: She is not responsible


From what I heard on the news...


The news was wrong. This is basic property rights 101. If I own the pole, why would someone else be responsible?

The power company can remove power from a safety hazard at any time. Better some rotten food or frozen pipes than a dead kid.
--
Looks like Reverend Wright got his wish - God Damn America.

Smith6612
Premium
join:2008-02-01
united state
·Dish Network
·Verizon Online DSL
·FrontierNet Intern..

Heh....

SNAP SNAP SNAP.... BOOM!

On a more serious note, if the pole was rotted, you can't go around bashing Comcast techs on that. You bash whoever owns that pole for not keeping tabs on it.

xdeadhead
220, 221, Whatever It Takes.
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Mechanicsburg, PA

thank god for buried plant

nuff said.
floydb_1982

join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA
·Clearwire Wireless
·Comcast

I peed my short's after reading this

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Iknowenuff

join:2001-06-28
Riverside, CA

Phone Tech

As 15yr field tech here in Cali....
the poles on you property that are used as an extension from the serving terminal (service pole) to your house (we call them clearance poles) are privately owned by the homeowner. Period. even if u placed it or bought the house/property after the fact, you own it. if it breaks or needs to be replaced it is at the customers expense. As a technician, it is YOUR responsibility to check the pole before you climb it (my company would have suspended the tech for performing an unsafe act). if the pole was that rotten to the point it broke, had he done a simple test it would have been obvious it was unsafe to climb. The utilities on said pole (electric, cable, phone) are there with your implied consent, you want service, we use YOUR pole. It breaks, you fix it or no service. Very few clearance poles are owned by utility company.
Forums » Overweight Comcast Tech Breaks Utility Polepage: 1 · 2


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