Special needs child suffers cuts, bruises after he says teacher punched him in face for trying to perfect his homeworkBrooke McQuiddy sorts through some of her mother's possessions in Canadian on March 5, 2024. The mobile home her mother, Melanie McQuiddy, lived in, was on the lot in the background when the fire swept through.Before it burned to a pile of ashes, Melanie McQuiddy’s house on the outskirts of Canadian was her family’s home base.
A review of portions of the state’s electricity code shows utilities have to plan for maintaining their equipment and responding in emergencies, but how they do so is largely left to the companies. Much of the country’s utility infrastructure went up in the middle of the 20th century, which would mean wood utility poles are reaching the end of their useful lives, Samaras said. Those poles and wires also were built for less extreme weather than what the state is now experiencing.The National Electrical Safety Code generally says that utilities should follow good practices, but doesn’t necessarily define what they are, said Alison Silverstein, an energy consultant.
For example, utilities can wrap poles with fire retardant material, cover wires so they’re less likely to spark if something hits them or use devices to shut power off in a line as soon as it breaks. But that costs money.