Resident raises concerns about wide-area outage and risks to oxygen-dependent residents

During the public-comment period, resident John Durgin described experiencing a wide-area power outage that affected Lakemore and neighboring communities. Durgin said his wifes home concentrator lost power and that portable oxygen devices were insufficient for overnight continuous use; he asked whether the township or utility had procedures to prioritize medically vulnerable customers during outages.

Council members and staff responded: they noted reports that a failed insulator or line problem caused the outage and explained utilities sometimes must inspect lines by foot to locate faults. Officials also said the fire department maintains a list of critical residents and can provide temporary power at the station and that the council would follow up with the utilitys community engagement contact to ask about priority services for customers on medical equipment.

Durgin said his wife nearly had to be taken to a fire station before power returned; council members acknowledged the risk to residents on continuous medical equipment and encouraged affected residents to register with utility or emergency services and to contact the fire department for assistance during outages.