AUSTINTOWN — Two power outages during one of the coldest weekends so far this winter left 8,000 Mahoning County residents without electricity, heat and in some cases, running water.

Torri Rogenski, of Austintown, said she first lost power early Saturday morning when lows hit -8 degrees in the Youngstown area.

“We didn’t have power for over six hours, and my house got really cold but luckily we have a gas heater in our room and a gas fireplace — but unfortunately our kitchen pipes froze,” Rogenski said.

Rogenski said she lost power again Sunday night for two and half hours.

Stephany Sericola, of Austintown, said she doesn’t like to complain, but having a newborn baby made the outages scary and frustrating.

“Naturally you already worry in the middle of the night, but when we lost power twice this weekend, it was rough,” Sericola said. “We stayed up all night with him, wrapped him in blankets and luckily we had a fireplace. But the house got very cold real fast. Like I said people have it worse, but having a tiny baby is stressful with no heat.”

The outage on Saturday was caused by an equipment malfunction, according to Ohio Edison spokesperson Lauren Siburkis. She said most residents had their power restored within an hour.

The second outage Sunday night was caused by a vehicle accident in the 1600 block of South Meridian Road, according to Siburkis. She said the outages were from two unrelated incidents, but it just so happened that the same customers were affected. She said the majority of the customers affected were Austintown residents, but the outages extended into the West Side of Youngstown.

GIRARD

Girard Mayor Jim Melfi said a meeting with representatives of First Energy originally scheduled for Monday was canceled, along with the regular council meeting, due to hazardous weather,

Melfi said council had sent a letter last November asking First Energy officials to attend to discuss why there had been so many power outages in late 2021.

“We had about half dozen power outages in October and November. There were four outages within a six- to seven-day period. We have not had any other power outages or that many again to my knowledge since November,” Melfi said.

He said the concern raised with power outages is the problems caused for many people working from home on their computers.

“This isn’t the 1970s. Today when there is a power outage everything from the computers, clocks, appliances have to be reset and checked. It is a nuisance for many people who work on their computer at home or who are on their computer at work,” he said.

Melfi said officials simply wanted to ask First Energy officials what can be done to prevent the outages or at least lessen them.

He said the meeting will be rescheduled. Council’s next regular meeting is Feb. 14.

BEING PREPARED

Winter storms can often bring extended power outages. Jim McIntyre, Red Cross regional communications director of Northern Ohio, said the best thing to do is prepare for the unexpected.

“Do the work before the cold,” McIntyre said.

McIntyre said that pipes exposed to the cold are the most likely to freeze, which mainly include pipes in the basement and outdoors. He recommends closing inside valves that control the water supply and opening the outside spigots to drain water.

McIntyre said kitchens with pipes in an exterior wall are also at risk of freezing. Opening the cabinet under the sink will allow warm air to enter, preventing pipes from freezing, or thawing already frozen pipes.

McIntyre said families should assess their electrical needs and determine whether a generator is an investment they want to make. People with electricity reliant medical devices might benefit from having a generator on hand during an outage, but he advises to do your due diligence beforehand.

McIntyre said generators should only be used as directed, and portable generators should never be used indoors or in garages, basements or sheds. They should always be used outside well away from windows, doors, vents, or any other opening due to their high carbon monoxide production.

“You have to use them safely, follow all of the safety tips and make sure you have an efficient electrical supply,” McIntyre said.

McIntyre said the best thing to do is to prepare your family both physically and mentally for any inclement weather.

“Talk with your family, prepare them for what might happen. Having those conversations with your children might lessen their fear when something does happen,” McIntyre said.

He recommends having a seasonal emergency kit in your home and your car. For your home, he recommends a gallon of water for each person in the family, easy to prepare non-perishable foods, a week’s worth of any prescribed medication, flashlights, a battery or hand crank operated radio, a first aid kit and emergency contact information. For your car, he said to keep warm clothes such as gloves or mittens along with blankets, a snow scraper, a flashlight, and a bright colored cloth.

“Have a bright colored cloth, like a red cloth, in your car to tie to your antenna in case your car becomes stuck or disabled,” McIntyre said.

McIntyre used the recent debacle on Interstate 95 in Virginia as an example of why it’s important to be prepared. Drivers on the interstate were stuck in standstill traffic for more than a day after a crash brought the road to a halt and stranded drivers.

“Nobody expects to be in a situation where you’re stranded, so it’s important to prepare for the unexpected,” McIntyre said.