Pretty much at the beginning of our work-day, at approximately 7:10 a.m. yesterday, the flash and resultant “boom” of an explosion was witnessed by myself and a few others at DataCom Inc.  Luckily, for us, the incident happened outside of our office space.  It was from a traffic accident that knocked down a power-pole with a transformer blowing being the result.  Our power went out for the few seconds it took for the grid to realign itself and supply us with A.C. again.

Within scant minutes, emergency responders were on scene and secured the area.  Thankfully, no one was badly injured.  Within the hour, road crews arrived to clear the vehicles, downed power lines, and the smashed pole.  North Lima’s electricity vendors also quickly responded and began repair of the power grid.  We ended up being without power for about 3-4 hours while the crews swapped the infrastructure onto the new pole and transformer.

For those not aware, it was in single digit temperature territory when the accident occurred.  It never did get above 18° F yesterday, and while the wind was not fierce, it was definitely lending a strong hand to the chill factor.

DataCom Inc., along with the vast majority of trades, did not shut her doors during the Covid Pandemic.  We were considered essential!  I’m actually quite proud of that!  We worked as normally as possible while navigating our way through the various mandates that were thrown up as obstacles.  That privilege has to be paid for eventually.  Yesterday’s temperatures reminded me of that.

While we typically conduct the majority of our work indoors, that does not mean that we do not ever venture outside.  This inclement weather has already forced us to seek an extension on one project’s completion date.  While DataCom employees are able to dress for the cold, the same cannot be said of the cable that we’re installing.  These brutal temperatures actually freeze the insulated jacket surrounding the cable pairs.  Pulling them in that condition results in cracks.  Today’s Cat-6 testing with its’ stringent standards do not allow for cracks in the insulation!  As such, we’re finding inside work until this cold spell passes.

I only wish that the linemen yesterday could say the same thing.  DataCom Inc. thanks those workers for their dedication and professionalism yesterday in returning our power in a safe and orderly fashion!