webley445
Flashlight Enthusiast
Condo was fumigated this week. Had to be out for a few days. We had decided to get a room at the beach, have a mini vacation. It is off season and a little cheaper too. Had to get a place that took pets also as it was the wife, the dog, the baby, and myself.
We got a room at a place called the Ritz on St. Pete beach. It rained everyday we were there, spent most of it shacked up inside to avoid the weather /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
It was a nice motel room with efficiency so we could make meals and eat there. It was on the main thoroughfare, 2 lanes going either direction with a center universal turn lane. We had a sliding glass door that faced the main road on the ground level. The patio was cordoned off with a 5' high wall.
The second evening, I happened to notice a flash like a flash bulb of a camera reflecting off of the walls of the patio. It was very cloudy and dark out [at 5pm!]. I thought nothing of it and continued watching tv, which was in the room with the glass door. A few minutes later I saw the flash again. Now my curiosity was up. I muted the set and just as I was getting up to go look, another flash accompanied by a deep toned buzz. OH oh, I've heard that sound before, some juice was arcing. Usually means you're gonna loose power during repairs, but my main concern was any hazardous conditions that may occur, especially since I had all those near and dear to me right there.
I looked out the sliding glass door and watched, scanning the area. Power lines arcing are really, really bright and could be a distance away, meaning not much danger. After a few moments with no results, I stepped out onto the patio, scanning the nearby power poles. As it were the pole closest to our room, about 25 feet, lit off an arc. One of the jumpers that came off of the main lines had broken loose from the large porcelain connectors. The wind was blowing pretty good and the wire was flapping around. When the wire fell just right, it would hit the top of the porcelain unit and flash an arc about the size of a small round mellon. Kinda small compared to some of the stuff I've seen before, but still a plausible concern. Hotels and motels line the strip and I could see a few people across the street looking also.
I watched it arc twice more and determined at least no sparks were coming off of it and falling to the ground. I didn't know who should be notified, but didn't want to wait for someone else to do it, so I called 911 to report it. I figured it would be ok as FD and PD always respond very quick in this area, big tourist dollars here, and they like to maintain order. The operator told me they already got a call on it and units were responding.
Well, nothing left to do but inventory my flashlights in case they're needed! I had my E1 and a SL4AA 7LED, plus the Scorpion and CMG Ultra in my briefcase which I just happened to bring inside with me, and the Ultra, Arc AAA, and Reactor which are always in the car anyways, oh and the Photon on my keyring. Yeah I think it'll be okay.
I stepped out onto the patio to have a smoke and watch all the fun. I could already hear the baying of a siren approaching. A single FD truck arrived onscene. They pulled into the center turning lane when they were about half a block away and crept up the road. I could see the firemen in the cab looking up and down the street. They then stopped almost directly perpendicular to the pole that was arcing, then hit the turn signal. They were about to pull into the hotel that was across the street. I took the opportunity to whip out my E1 that was clipped to my front pocket and started flashing the driver of the FD truck. The truck stopped and I could see the driver and shotgun in the cab looking at me. I stood and pointed at the culprit power pole. They watched the pole a few moments, looking back and forth from the pole to me. Then the wire decided to graciously give a display, so that the firemen could see what all the ruckus was about. I watched as the passenger radioed out. It was raining pretty good by now, and they sat in the truck watching until a truck from the power company arrived about 20 minutes later. Then the power went off while they made their repairs.
30 minutes later power was back, the tv went on, and it was time to put the lights away. That was the most excitement out of three rained out days stuck in a room at the beach. Once again, CPF to the rescue.
We got a room at a place called the Ritz on St. Pete beach. It rained everyday we were there, spent most of it shacked up inside to avoid the weather /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
It was a nice motel room with efficiency so we could make meals and eat there. It was on the main thoroughfare, 2 lanes going either direction with a center universal turn lane. We had a sliding glass door that faced the main road on the ground level. The patio was cordoned off with a 5' high wall.
The second evening, I happened to notice a flash like a flash bulb of a camera reflecting off of the walls of the patio. It was very cloudy and dark out [at 5pm!]. I thought nothing of it and continued watching tv, which was in the room with the glass door. A few minutes later I saw the flash again. Now my curiosity was up. I muted the set and just as I was getting up to go look, another flash accompanied by a deep toned buzz. OH oh, I've heard that sound before, some juice was arcing. Usually means you're gonna loose power during repairs, but my main concern was any hazardous conditions that may occur, especially since I had all those near and dear to me right there.
I looked out the sliding glass door and watched, scanning the area. Power lines arcing are really, really bright and could be a distance away, meaning not much danger. After a few moments with no results, I stepped out onto the patio, scanning the nearby power poles. As it were the pole closest to our room, about 25 feet, lit off an arc. One of the jumpers that came off of the main lines had broken loose from the large porcelain connectors. The wind was blowing pretty good and the wire was flapping around. When the wire fell just right, it would hit the top of the porcelain unit and flash an arc about the size of a small round mellon. Kinda small compared to some of the stuff I've seen before, but still a plausible concern. Hotels and motels line the strip and I could see a few people across the street looking also.
I watched it arc twice more and determined at least no sparks were coming off of it and falling to the ground. I didn't know who should be notified, but didn't want to wait for someone else to do it, so I called 911 to report it. I figured it would be ok as FD and PD always respond very quick in this area, big tourist dollars here, and they like to maintain order. The operator told me they already got a call on it and units were responding.
Well, nothing left to do but inventory my flashlights in case they're needed! I had my E1 and a SL4AA 7LED, plus the Scorpion and CMG Ultra in my briefcase which I just happened to bring inside with me, and the Ultra, Arc AAA, and Reactor which are always in the car anyways, oh and the Photon on my keyring. Yeah I think it'll be okay.
I stepped out onto the patio to have a smoke and watch all the fun. I could already hear the baying of a siren approaching. A single FD truck arrived onscene. They pulled into the center turning lane when they were about half a block away and crept up the road. I could see the firemen in the cab looking up and down the street. They then stopped almost directly perpendicular to the pole that was arcing, then hit the turn signal. They were about to pull into the hotel that was across the street. I took the opportunity to whip out my E1 that was clipped to my front pocket and started flashing the driver of the FD truck. The truck stopped and I could see the driver and shotgun in the cab looking at me. I stood and pointed at the culprit power pole. They watched the pole a few moments, looking back and forth from the pole to me. Then the wire decided to graciously give a display, so that the firemen could see what all the ruckus was about. I watched as the passenger radioed out. It was raining pretty good by now, and they sat in the truck watching until a truck from the power company arrived about 20 minutes later. Then the power went off while they made their repairs.
30 minutes later power was back, the tv went on, and it was time to put the lights away. That was the most excitement out of three rained out days stuck in a room at the beach. Once again, CPF to the rescue.
