FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Residents in a Fort Myers neighborhood are worried about slanted electrical poles near their homes.
Neighbors told Fox 4 the leaning poles have knocked out their power in the past, but what they are truly afraid of is the situation causing a fire. "If that 50,000 bolts drops down to our drop, which is only 240, it'll put 50,000 bolts into both our homes and we'll lose our homes," said Denis Dennison, a neighbor.
The poles are located on Flowers Drive, off of Cleveland Avenue. Dennison said FPL has come up with quick fixes for the issue, but he's looking for a permanent solution. "I've talked to supervisors in the past, and they promise things but all they do is straighten the pole up and they sit in the sand, it's not going to stay there," he said.
Fox 4 reached out to FPL, who told us that the poles came out of place after a U-haul truck drove through cable lines, taking the poles with them. "We've had crews come out and check it and it does not pose a safety hazard to our customers, and later today our crews are going out to install a new pole where the pole broke," said Bill Orlov, an FPL representative. "We put our poles deep into the ground and we follow all the standards for insuring that our poles are secure and safe for not only our customers but our employees."
However, Dennison is hoping FPL reinforces the poles so it wont happen again. "They need to put may more poles around it with maybe a big band around it or a guide wire," he said. "A guide wire would help support, you see that on poles."
FPL arrived to Dennison's home late Monday and straightened the poles. However, they have not put anything in place to reinforce them.
