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With hurricane season underway, taking safety precautions ahead of future storm encounters are the key to survival. 

With line workers being one of the first to respond to hurricanes and dangerous storms, Dominion Energy is providing tips to the Hampton Roads area to stay safe ahead of the curb. 

In a recent interview, Dominion Energy Lead Line Worker Taylor Pruitt provided tips on how Suffolk residents can prepare themselves during the calm before the storm, most notably how to better prepare for power outages.

“You need to make sure that you got the battery packs for your cellphones and other small electronics, and make sure your cars are gassed up. If you have a generator, make sure that’s gassed up,” Pruitt said.

Homeowners with those whole-home generators need to ensure they have them hooked up properly, he said. This allows line workers to do their job safely and effectively in your home. 

He acknowledged that generators do run out and when all else fails, be prepared with old-fashioned candles and even a board game or two. 

 

Pruitt said the biggest mistake people make is not preparing enough.

“We never know how long these wind events are going to take,” he said. “Maybe go a little bit extra. If you think you’re going to need one case of water, maybe buy two cases of water. If you think you’re going to be out of power for a day or so, prepare for an extra day. Just have an extra of everything.”

He also urges anyone who sees downed electrical lines or a broken pole to stay away from it and call the appropriate officials to handle the problem.

“If you see something, you need to call somebody,” Pruitt said. “You need to call us or 911 and you can also use our mobile app. You can report outages through that, you can see the ETR (Estimated Time of Restoration).”

Throughout the year,  he said Dominion Energy and his team does a lot of prep work, such as bringing restoration to old poles and trimming trees and rideaways with their trucks being well stocked to fix just about any problem that they encounter after a storm. 

Pruitt said that being the first to respond to emergency situations following a dangerous storm can be really interesting.

“We’re never really sure what we’re going to roll up on whether it can be a 10-foot tall Bradford Pear or a 150-foot tall pine tree,” he said. “But we’re prepared for anything. We’ve got great training and we’ve got a great safety culture where there’s never a need for us to feel unsafe.”