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Edited on Thu Sep-08-11 11:45 AM by DebJ
advice. After I posted my last message, I heard in the basement the buzzing noise one hears when electricity meets water. It started to get louder. I called 911, fearing a fire, they said someone would be out. 30 minutes later, an exhausted fireman calls and says "We can't pump out your basement. We took 100 calls and we can't take anymore". I said that wasn't why I called, I am afraid my house is catching fire. He replied "Call back if I see or smell smoke" and said he could call Met-Ed to disconnect the electric from outside the house. I said oh I can do that. (The local paper said something like 911 had 749 calls between 10 am and 2 pm Wednesday, compared to like 230 same time the day before).
I called Met Ed, they said they would get here when they could and had no idea as to when. It was now 5:30 am. I didn't here anymore water running, but the buzzing had grown incredibly loud. At first I thought it was the dehumidifier which was plugged in, but up on a stand, but the cord (a big orange one) was underwater. Over time, I realized it was the freezer, which I had totally ignored because it is just a small chest freezer I rarely use, and am so used to it being there, I don't 'see' it when my eyes scan the room.
I woke up my husband, urging him to at least put on a pair of pants and have his car keys on him in case a fire started. He didn't understand why (*&^%$$), but finally did as I asked. I began loading some of my clothes into the car. He asked why. I said well if we don't have a house tomorrow, I at least want clothes to wear. I will need to keep looking for a job. He said why don't you just sit down and wait for Met Ed. OMG. I'm thinking I may have time to save important things from a potential fire, and he wants me to just sit here. Can you imagine having time to save critically needed things, and just sitting there?
I began to load into my van things like our important papers, passports, teaching certification stuff. Then kids photo albums. I unplugged my computer so I could snatch it quickly if necessary. I have thousands of family photos and have yet to get an external drive for back-up.
6:00 am or so, the buzzing stops. I don't know why. Still terrified but a tiny bit less.
7:45: still no Met Ed. I begin wondering what will we do after they get here? I'm thinking go into the basement, unplug everything, turn off circuit breakers for the basement. It really is hard to plan, to know what to do, when panic hits, you have no sleep, can't eat because you are too upset/uptight, and never imagined nor witnessed such a thing before. Emergency plans for a flood in the house are not something that ever crossed my mind. Yet post 90-11, I created an emergency bag with even a bit of plastic and rope for a tent and other emergency supplies (even a dish/utensil kit).
So I thought, then what? I will need an electrician to tell me what is useable or not, to check the outlets on the walls, 3 feet up well above floor water, but where water has wet the inside of those walls, just flowing through the cinderblock. Electrician's office wasn't open yet.
I called again at 8. Electrician told me the buzzing stopped because the line heated enough to trigger the circuit breaker. Oh, right, now I get it. They said someone would be over between 10 and 11. I took a quick nap, less fearful I'd wake up in a burn unit at the hospital.
I love these people. Stewartstown Electric, for anyone in York or Stewarstown. We got screwed over by 4 electricians before we found these wonderful, polite, informative people who seem to know what they are doing.
The polite young man came at 10:30, put on rubber boots, and waded right in. He turned off the basement breakers, and unplugged the freezer (which he said died), and the dehumidifier, which he said was fine, because where the unit cord met the extension cord had been on the shelf above the water and the orange cord can take the water. He unplugged everything, and examined our floor drains, and told me they were blocked and we needed a plumber ASAP. Said he doesn't think the furnace is damaged, unless water had been another 1/2 inch to one inch higher. And it is still raining, though lightly. The eletrician explained to me that this area has very little soil, and underground there is a high water table with solid rock underneath. When the ground gets this wet, there is no where for water to go but in the house, but if our quite ample drains were not clogged, the water would have just run back out. I feel really stupid, but I don't know how these things worked and have never seen anything like this in my life.
So now I'm waiting for a plumber. Will probably be on overtime, but that is still cheaper than a new furnace. I just hope to God someone can loan us $500 or $600 to get us past this next month or two.
I'm going to run and start removing some of the water by 5 gallon bucket fulls up the steps in hopes more rain won't wet the furnace. ON EDIT: Met Ed, the electric company, never did show up. I called them at 11 am to cancel, and the woman seemed stunned that no one had ever called or come out; she couldn't seem to understand that. Turns out the electrician was cheaper.
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