Volunteer 'wire watchers' free up police, firefighters for emergency response

LOMBARD, Illinois—Downed power lines are sometimes the unfortunate after affect of storms. These live wires pose safety issues when left unattended until the power is restored and the lines are repaired.

Prior to a new program instituted by the Lombard Police Department, on-duty Lombard police and firefighters were often needed to monitor the wires until the utility company could respond to the scene. Depending on the number of downed wires, the time emergency personnel were standing guard took them away from being available for emergency responses.

The new program, referred to as “wire watching,” was embraced by the Lombard Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association (LCPAAA), who is often called upon to assist the Police Department with various duties from tours of the Police Department to traffic control at special events. “The LCPAAA is always willing to lend a helping hand,” said Sgt. William “Bud” Marks, advisor to the group.

Eighteen volunteer members of the LCPAAA have been trained on the Commonwealth Edison online training for electrical hazards, according to Marks. They have also been trained additionally by Marks in the classroom on their specific role in a wire watching assignment.

The volunteers, who utilize their own vehicles that are signed and marked with a flashing yellow light, are dispatched to a location where they monitor the downed wire, until such time as the utility company personal get to the scene. Depending on the severity of the storm, it could be several hours, according to Marks. “With the storms we had, prior to the volunteers getting involved in this program, we (police and fire) were running out of personnel to do this job,” he added.

“The Wire Watch program is designed to provide trained volunteers to be aware of the danger associated with downed electrical lines,” stated Jim Krupka, President of the LCPAAA. “We provide the manpower needed to monitor the area around a downed wire and direct people safely around the site. This allows the police and fire personnel to focus their attention on other calls and emergencies that they must respond to without stretching their manpower too thin,” Krupka added.

Barricades around the location are set up by police or fire personnel to keep passers-by out of the area of the downed wire.

“One of the volunteers has already been deployed,” commented Marks. “There was an early morning storm in June that took a wire down in the 100 block of north Ahrens. That volunteer put in two hours before the situation was rectified but that's two more hours an officer was able to be on the street,” he added.

“It was a learning experience and a good opportunity to use the training I received through the Citizens Police Academy classes. It's nice to know that we can help free up officers for more important duties at a time when there is an unusually high volume of emergency calls,” said Vicky Krupka, LCPAAA member and initial wire watching volunteer.

“The CPA Alumni are providing such great public safety by volunteering for this program,” Marks said. “They are allowing fire and police personnel to be freed up to respond to ongoing emergencies,” he added.

During the past few years, all Village departments have been looking at various ways to save money, reduce Village expenditures and combine resources yet still deliver

the same quality services that Lombard residents expect to receive. The creation of “express permits” is one way of increasing efficiency of permit-processing and saving residents time with the introduction of this time-saving initiative.