Dispatcher Lauded for Quick Work When Downed Lines Caused Fire

CAPE MAY – Cape May police dispatcher Adam Delp earned praise and thanks at the June 19 city council meeting. Delp was absent when Mayor Clarence Lear asked Police Chief Anthony Marino to inform others of the dispatcher’s quick actions. 
Delp, a long-term department employee, happened to be on duty June 9 at approximately 11:30 a.m. when a commercial vehicle accidentally pulled down electric wires onto the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church across Franklin Street from the firehouse.
According to Marino, the displaced wires temporarily shorted out the dispatcher’s phone system. 
“We have a backup line,” Marino said, “but that had to be kept open for incoming emergency calls.” The standby generator returned power to the phone system, and the internet connections necessary for emergency functions began to be restored. 
In the interim, Delp had to improvise.
Immediately after the alarm, fire officials realized that the church had been “energized” by the live wires, but no attack could be made on the blaze until electricity was secured.
With the phones and internet rebooting, Delp resorted to a modern-day communication device, his personal cellphone.
Marino told council that Delp used his cellphone in discussions with Atlantic City Electric (ACE) to have the power shut off to the downed wires while the emergency communications equipment came back online.
ACE personnel realized that the only way to de-energize the church was to take down the entire grid the power lines were on.
That action shut off power and allowed firefighters to attack the blaze, but it also shut down power to traffic lights and businesses throughout the grid. That meant police had to manage potentially dangerous traffic situations.
According to ACE spokesperson Frank Tedesco, “Our operation’s team periodically de-energizes portions of the broader energy grid to isolate damaged infrastructure.” 
In this case, killing power to the grid allowed “a safe environment for emergency personnel to do their job,” he said.
Fire department officials said the blaze was brought under control within 15 minutes of actual firefighting and was fully extinguished soon afterward. Seven area fire departments responded to Cape May from neighboring West Cape May, the nearby Coast Guard Base, and also from Town Bank, Erma, Rio Grande, Villas, and Wildwood.
Within 90 minutes of the initial call, despite Delp’s need to temporarily rely on his cell phone and ACE’s need to de-energize the grid, the blaze was extinguished. Electrical crews began restoring power. In a town where a structure fire poses a danger to other buildings, the system worked despite the challenges.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.