A utility company that took an hour to send an electrician to the scene of a house fire Sunday stands by its response time, saying a skeleton crew was to blame.
The Scranton Fire Department said taking an hour to respond to the 1310 Price St. fire was unacceptable, and the delay likely caused damage that could have been prevented.
"Given the circumstances of it being a weekend with limited personnel on hand, we feel that it was a reasonable amount of time for us to approach the scene," Rich Beasley, spokesman for PPL Electric Utilities, said, adding PPL trucks are bound by traffic laws, such as stop signs, speed limits and traffic lights.
Beasley's explanation was not good enough for Acting Fire Chief Patrick DeSarno.
"An hour response is not unusual if my power is out and I need to worry about the meat in my freezer," he said. In firefighting, he said, every second counts.
The two-alarm blaze engulfed the West Scranton home at 2:18 p.m. and brought all eight of Scranton's on-duty fire companies to the scene. The department reported the fire to PPL at 2:19 p.m., but the utility did not respond until after 3 p.m.
Firefighters entered the home, and began fighting the fire, even with the power still on, which is standard operating procedure, DeSarno said. But they pulled out when one firefighter brushed against an aluminum window frame and received a mild shock that indicated the electricity was still on and the wiring was malfunctioning, he said.
Eventually, after waiting fruitlessly for PPL, firefighters re-entered through a door to the basement where they found a breaker box and turned off the power within the home, which allowed them to go back inside to fight the fire, he said.
Having PPL cut power to the home from the outside is still preferable because simply turning off the electricity at the breaker box still means a live electrical wire is connected to the home.
During the week, utility crews are normally out working on power lines or doing similar maintenance, Beasley said. When PPL has a crew working near the fire, response time is naturally faster. Beasley did not know where the utility worker was dispatched from Sunday.
"We're satisfied with (the response time) under the circumstances," Beasley said, adding that he understands the concerns of the fire department.
If the power had been cut earlier, DeSarno said the damage may have been less severe.
The Shafer family lost their home. The American Red Cross has provided Robert and Ann Shafer with food, clothing and seasonal clothing for themselves and their two children, Emily, 3, and Isaiah, 8.
The fire is still under investigation, but DeSarno said the initial assessment from city Fire Inspector Shaun Flynn points to it stemming from a cooking accident.
Two firefighters were injured, but DeSarno did not release their names. He said they are doing "OK" and added he does not believe the injuries were related to the PPL response time.
Beasley said the electric company is always willing to discuss ways to improve communication and coordination with the fire department, and DeSarno said he will likely take them up on the offer.
"There's got to be a better way," DeSarno said.
The department is especially sensitive to the dangers of working in electrified structures. On Jan. 6, 2008, city fire Capt. James Robeson was electrocuted by a 12,400-volt overhead power line while fighting a fire on Ash Street in a ladder truck bucket.
Miscommunication caused the accident. The utility company reported the power lines were shut down, but the fire personnel did not verify which lines had been shut down, according to a 2009 report by the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health.
On the Sunday Capt. Robeson died, PPL was on the scene in about 20 minutes.