Most of Franklin Towers without electric service for up to 2 weeks - Press Herald

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A light on in a room on one of the lower floors of Franklin Towers that still had power on Monday. The Portland Housing Authority high-rise lost power from the seventh to 16th floors during a thunderstorm Friday and isn’t expected to get it back for a week or possibly more. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

More than half the tenants in Franklin Towers’ 200 apartments lost electricity during a thunderstorm on Friday and it could take up to two weeks to restore service to all residents in the 16-story high-rise for the elderly and disabled.

Authorities believe the storm caused the power failure, although it hasn’t been definitively pinpointed, said Cheryl Sessions, executive director of the Portland Housing Authority. She said power remained on the first six floors of the building as well as in all the hallways. Water service to the apartments has not been affected, she said, the elevators are still working and alarm systems are up and running.

Residents of Franklin Towers were given extension cords to plug their refrigerators into hall outlets, which are still working. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

“We are researching the problem and think we tracked it down” to a device called a “bus bar,” Sessions said. But supply chain problems mean the authority will be unable to replace the part for a week or two, she said.

Residents on the seventh through 16th floors have been given extension cords so they can keep their refrigerators running by connecting to outlets in the hallways, Sessions said, and microwaves have been set up in common areas so the residents can cook. She said the authority also is having food delivered and may help residents who lose food due to the outage.

In addition, housing authority officials have asked residents to let them know if they have medical conditions that require them to have additional electric service.

“We’re doing all we can,” Sessions said.

However, some residents who were getting fresh air outside the building late Monday afternoon believe the city could do more.

Bonnie Smith, 67, said she has an electronic pad that reports her vital signs to doctors three times a week and officials have told her she can’t recharge the device.

Smith, who has diabetes and breathing problems, said the authority should at least give her a break on her $1,172 monthly rent while the power is out. Her rent includes electrical service, she said, and she believes she shouldn’t have to pay the same amount when she’s not getting electricity in her apartment beyond an extension cord to run her refrigerator.

“I don’t think that’s fair,” she said.

Bonnie Smith wipes away a tear outside her 11th-floor apartment in Franklin Towers on Monday as she talks about how difficult the conditions have been. Smith, who has diabetes and breathing problems, can’t recharge an electronic device she uses to report her vital signs to doctors. Smith said this is the worst it has ever been in the nearly two decades she has lived in the building. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Smith said the food the authority is bringing in consists of coffee, donuts and pastries in the morning, sandwiches at midday and pasta at night – many of the foods she normally avoids due to her diabetes.

Michael Dunton, who lives on the eighth floor, agreed with Smith about the rent, especially when he isn’t able to run a window air conditioner off the extension cord – he’s been told it’s for refrigerators only.

“Luckily, it isn’t as hot as it was a few weeks ago, but at night it’s like sleeping in a pool of sweat,” he said.

Dunton said he also asked to use a stove on the first floor of the building and was told no, it’s microwaves only, limiting what he can cook for himself.

Sessions met with residents Monday afternoon to explain the situation and said most have remained understanding.

“Most of the residents seem very positive about it,” she said. “The important thing is everyone is safe.”

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