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REWIND; THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN PIQUA
- Article from:
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Dayton Daily News
- Article date:
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February 19, 2004
- Author:
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Copyright informationCopyright 2004 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Where were you when the lights went out, when 98 percent of Piqua
went dark?
It was 7:55 p.m. Feb. 15, 1980, 24 years and one week ago. I was
news director at WPTW radio and a stringer for WDTN Channel 2
shooting 16mm film.
The blackout began at the South Main Street power plant when a
"pothead," a porcelain insulator, exploded, causing a main
transformer to burn out.
Workers battled snow, high winds and bitter cold as they worked to
restore electricity. Diesel-powered auxiliary generators at the city
garage in Piqua supplied emergency power to police and fire
departments, and Piqua Memorial Hospital operated with its own
emergency generators.
By 3 a.m., a mobile substation the size of a ...