Around midnight, AEP Texas Service Mechanic Ramon Flores got a call from dispatch about a pole fire in Beeville. As he drove to the location, he recognized that the area was an old military base housing authority. This site was situated behind the primary metering equipment, which indicated that the customer owned all the lines, poles, and transformers in this area. Flores pulled over and called the Beeville fire chief to see if they had been contacted by the manager of the housing authority, to which he said yes. Even though the fire chief confirmed the pole in question did not belong to AEP Texas, Flores knew he had to act immediately.

"I started to drive back home, but my gut told me to go to the residential area and put eyes on the pole fire," he said." I wanted to see if I could make it safe for the public, knowing there was a hazard."

When he arrived at the location, he noticed the pole had been recently replaced by a contractor, and the pole ground was sparking. The transformer was only connected to the pole ground and not to the neutral wire. Possible voltage on the pole ground could have caused an electrical shock to anyone walking or living nearby. To make it safe for the public, Flores de-energized the transformer making the area safer for Beeville residents.

“Being a brother’s keeper doesn’t only mean looking out for the safety of my co-workers, but also the general public,” he said.