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Fourteen residents in David Williams Place in Warkworth were given a rude awakening in the early hours of Friday, July 5, when a power surge flashed through their homes, frying home appliances, hot water cylinders and other electrical gear. One resident woke to find her television on fire.
The trouble started on July 4 when an underground cable fault caused a localised power outage. Vector crews set up generators to supply power to the affected properties while the fault was located and repaired.
The power surge happened sometime between 2am and 3am on the following day.
Vector says the cause is still being investigated.
“We want to reassure residents that they shouldn’t be concerned about the transformer supplying David Williams Place,” a spokesperson said. “It was last inspected during routine maintenance two months ago and is part of a regular ongoing maintenance programme.
“We understand how upsetting this has been for them, and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
However, its apology has not gone so far as to promise any compensation other than the standard $50 offered per outage. Vector also did not respond to a specific request from Mahurangi Matters regarding how affected residents would be assisted.
“It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth, to be honest,” resident Sue Robertson says. “Some of the insurance excesses are $1000.
“However, we understand Vector will meet with each resident individually to talk through their circumstances, which is a start.”
Residents met on July 14 to collate evidence and assess what had been lost.
Robertson described the meeting as emotional and “hot on Vector”.
“We are all dealing with our insurers individually and getting mixed results,” Robertson said. “Some companies have been quick to offer replacement appliances, while other people are still waiting just to get assessed.
“What we really want to know is whether or not Vector will pay the excess charges, but we haven’t heard a word from them on this.
“I don’t think they appreciate the amount of damage that has occurred.”
The list of damaged items included fridges and freezers along with hundreds of dollars worth of spoiled food, microwaves, heat pumps, coffee machines, garage door motors, burglar alarms and computer equipment.
Robertson said she had been making a cup of tea when the power surge hit.
“I couldn’t sleep because the three generators were making so much noise.
“I’d just unplugged the kettle when I heard a series of bangs behind the wall. It was pretty frightening.”
Power surge: Lucky to be alive after blaze
A David Williams Place resident believes she is lucky to be alive after her bedroom TV burst into flames when the power surge struck in the early hours of Friday, July 5.
Jan Cranwell, who had celebrated her 80th birthday the previous day, was fast asleep when she was woken by her cat Kimba yowling in the garage.
The next thing she knew, there was a huge bang and the TV in her bedroom was on fire with flames reaching up to the ceiling. She called her son Greg, who managed to wrestle the flaming unit off the wall and out through the window.
Days later, she still couldn’t believe that he’d been able to help and the fire hadn’t spread to the rest of the house
“I don’t think I’d have been able to lift the TV on my own, so I’m lucky,” she said. “And it’s lucky it didn’t set fire to the curtains or the whole house would have been alight.
“When it happened, I was so stunned I couldn’t even talk. I was speechless.”
Apart from singed hair, Greg was miraculously unscathed by the ordeal.
After calling the fire brigade and hosing down the burning TV, Greg and Jan spent several hours outside and at a neighbour’s house, while firefighters set up fans to try to clear the acrid black smoke and fumes from burning plastic.
Once back inside, Jan was confronted with smoke-stained walls and sticky soot covering every surface, plus a blown-out hot water cylinder, heat pump, lights, fridge and ventilation system.
“We’ve had so many people through the house – seven firemen, seven from Vector, insurance assessors – and there’s been so much paperwork, it’s unbelievable,” she said.
“We were okay Friday, but just sat there shaking all day Saturday. My brain’s still not functioning right. I start talking to people and forget what I’m saying.”
Neighbour Lynette Beale, who also lost thousands of dollars’ worth of electrical appliances in the surge, said the incident had been traumatic for everyone.
“It was dangerous and life-threatening,” she said. “It could have killed Jan.
“Vector have gone and no one is helping.”
