Hydro crews from Belleville have arrived home after spending two weeks restoring power in Hurricane-ravaged St.Petersburg Fla.
Eight linemen from Tal Trees Power Service worked in excess of 16 hours a day to reconnect service wires and replace broken poles damaged by Hurricane Irma. They arrived in the sunshine state on Sept. 9, and returned last Saturday to a gracious homecoming offered by the utility company.
“As far as we’re concerned, we have the best. I’d be lying if I said otherwise,” said Morgan Cowl, the President of Spark Power Service Group, the company the contractor works under.
The men say they’ve returned with stories and pictures they’ll be sharing the rest of their lives, shocked by the devastation but appreciative of the welcoming from their American counterparts and citizens who brought in food and water to help assist with recovery efforts.
“You get used to the damage and the uprooted trees and damaged homes but you never get used to the people suffering because of the aftermath of a storm,” said Stephen Sine, the supervisor on site.
Every single employee at the company offered to go south but due to logistics that wasn’t possible and many of the linemen that did go to offer a lending hand say they’d be happy to do it again.
“If the call ever came in again I’d be honoured to do it again and do it all over again with these guys,” said Sine.
Their hard work and dedication to the job hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Bellville Mayor Taso Christopher attended an appreciation BBQ and thanked the men for representing the Friendly City so well.
“We’re blessed that we are a culture a fabric and a family in a country that says you know we’ll go and help,” said Christopher.
In the meantime, nine linemen from Veridian Power in Belleville are making their way back north and should return home within the next 24 hours.
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