Over 1,200 Utilities Kingston customers lose power after boom trucks tears down electricity wires

It was a regular work day at Kingston’s Gin-Cor for Amanda Young, until she heard a strange noise outside.

“At about quarter to twelve, I was in the office and heard a big bang, some crackling noises. We looked out the window and we saw brown smoke,” says Young.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "At about quarter to twelve, I was in the office and heard a big bang, some crackling noises. We looked out the window and we saw brown smoke," says Young.

Turns out, a boom truck was leaving Omens Windows on John Counter Blvd. with its crane still in the air. It got caught on multiple hydro lines and snapped a telephone pole in half. Twelve hundred and thirty Utilities Kingston customers lost power. Crews were alerted and moved quickly to get the electricity grid back online.

As a result, a portion of John Counter Blvd. is expected to be closed to traffic until midnight on Friday.

“We were able to get all but 47 customers out of the 1230 customers back on within 40 minutes and then the remaining 47 we just brought them on, so within a couple hours,” said Brad Joyce, the Director of Energy with Utilities Kingston.

All but one business — Omens Glass — had power re-routed. As a safety precaution, a portion of John Counter Blvd. was closed to the public as crews with Utilities Kingston worked to replace the broken pole and restore power to the one remaining business.

“The wire that was pulled down was a 5,000-volt wire and we also have a 44,000 volt on that same pole so it’s fairly significant from our perspective and we are just happy nobody was injured with it,” Joyce said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The wire that was pulled down was a 5,000-volt wire and we also have a 44,000 volt on that same pole so it's fairly significant from our perspective and we are just happy nobody was injured with it," Joyce said.

Police are now investigating and trying to determine whether charges will be laid.

“There is a charge under the highway traffic act. When someone is entering the highway they need to ensure that the way is clear, boom is down and it’s not going to catch anything, ” says Const. David Wien.

While the incident temporarily turned out the lights for many people in the central part of Kingston — some businesses, like Gin-Cor Industries, decided to close up shop for the afternoon, giving employees like Young a head start to their weekend.