WILDWOOD – Wildwood Fire Chief Ernest Troiano III credited the staff of Morey’s Piers with handling the removal of riders after a problem with an electrical transformer resulted in rides being shut down while in use, calling them a “well-oiled machine.”
Wildwood Commissioner Steve Mikulski, who oversees public safety, said a problem with a primary wire on a transformer at Schellenger and Pacific avenues at about 3:30 p.m., Aug. 15, caused a power outage, trapping riders on the Sea Serpent and Ferris wheel at Mariner’s Landing, which is operated by Morey’s Piers.
Mikulski echoed Troiano’s comments, and credited members of the Morey’s Piers staff with getting people safely off the rides. According to Mikulski, the Ferris wheel had to be manually rotated in order to get people off the ride.
Troiano said Wildwood firefighters were on the scene to assist if they were needed, but Morey’s Piers was able to follow through with emergency plans it already has in place. He said the Morey’s Piers staff was able to release brakes on each of the rides and move them to a position where riders could get off.
“We were up there to lend support but they actually have a very well-oiled machine,” Troiano said. “Their coordination is solid and they addressed it in a timely manner.”
The Delta Platoon from Wildwood Fire Department responded to the downed wires – Troiano said there were multiple primary wires down – and they requested help from Atlantic City Electric (ACE), which restored power in about two hours.
“Everything was up and running by 6:30 p.m.,” Mikulski said.
Frank Tedesco, a spokesman with ACE’s parent company, Pepco Holdings, said the power actually went out at 3:24 p.m. due to an issue with infrastructure on a pole that caused a wire to go down.
“It impacted service to 36 customers, including Morey’s Piers,” Tedesco said.
Power was restored to all customers by 6:34 p.m., he said, but the exact cause of the problem with the equipment is still to be determined.
Mikulski said no one was harmed or injured by the incident. He said he is concerned that, as Wildwood has grown over the years, ACE has not grown with it.
Wildwood City Administrator Steve O’Connor commented on the outage, saying any disruption in electricity is disturbing to residents and visitors and is especially troubling to local businesses that might suffer a significant loss in revenues. He said ACE has already scheduled a meeting with city officials later this month to review the recent power outages.
“So it would be unfair to voice any criticism of their handling of the outrages before this discussion,” he said.
“On a positive note, Atlantic Electric has been exceptional with its constant communication updates during the outages,” he added.
Mayor Pete Byron said ACE has been easy to work with, noting they acted very quickly in response to both the major outage July 7 that took about 30 hours to fully restore and this recent outage.
“They (ACE crews) were fighting to beat the storm that was coming in,” Byron said. “A big storm hit shortly after they finished.”
Byron added that his biggest concern is the age of electric lines in Wildwood. He said there is a lot of new development with state-of-the-art electrical needs that are putting a strain on the system. He also believes the salt air takes its toll on electrical components.
“Atlantic City Electric has been very proactive, but I think they should figure out how to do a survey on the system,” Byron said. “I’m not fearful of a major catastrophe, but it would be helpful for the electric company to be more proactive.”
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
