15
November/December 2017
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
supported Tampa Electric, Orlando Utilities Commission,
Duke Energy, Florida Power & Light and other accounts.
In Florida, Johnny Page, area manager, Eastern Utility services,
helped get out-of-town crews coordinated and responding
to a variety of clients, including Lakeland Electric, city of
Bartow, Glades Electric Cooperative, Lee County Electric
Cooperative, city of Bushnell accounts and others.
"In my area, I probably had about 40 crews, or around 180
employees," Page said. "It was a great joint effort with
crews from many different areas of the country who came
together and worked well together."
The damage in Florida included fallen trees, but much of
the cleanup work consisted of broken limbs on lines and
leaning trees, or damaged trees otherwise blocking streets,
sidewalks and utility rights-of-way.
In Florida, Davey crews encountered different types of
personal hardships. Water and fuel were in short supply.
Lodging was just as scarce, with hotels as far away as
Alabama and Mississippi booked with people who evacuated
ahead of the storm and first responders.
The corporate safety department's response included
providing hundreds of bottles of water, sports drinks and
high-protein snacks with crews who traveled south.
"We anticipated early on water would be difficult to come by
and essential to have," said Joe Tommasi, corporate director
of safety. "Safety personnel held meetings with crews,
observed work in progress to provide guidance around pro-
cedures or circumstances crews encountered, and basically
provided additional support for a safe, successful outcome."
The safety team also was responsible for bringing storm
response trailers, which are a collaborative effort between
corporate safety, the various service lines and the
equipment department. The trailers are stocked with extra
Above: Utility crews responding to Florida encountered some
localized flooding, but most of the damage came from high winds.
PPE, chains, saw bars and other related equipment.
Florida residents like Mark Stevens, general foreman, City
of Winter Park account, were grateful for the help. Winter
Park services about 30,000 utility clients, many of whom
were without power for a week to 10 days.
"We normally have five Davey crews, but we had five extra,
about 22 employees, come from Wolf Tree in Tennessee to
help," Stevens said. "They got right down to business. It
didn't matter which crews I put together. They all worked
as a team to make sure the job got done right."
