DTE Moves to Improve Wire-Down Communication System After Royal Oak House Fire

A DTE initiative to improve communication in wire-down situations is expected to lead to changes in the system this summer, according to a Royal Oak official who pursued the issue after a Royal Oak home was destroyed by fire last summer.

Mayor Pro Tem Patricia Capello told Royal Oak city commissioners Monday that  DTE has initiated a project to develop a unique outage type for active house fire calls in the company's communication system.

Last August, a Royal Oak couple returned from a trip up north to find their on their house. were called to the scene on Woodslee, the first block south of 13 Mile Road, at 3:15 p.m. Aug. 28 when neighbors noticed the two downed power lines. Firefighters were unable to save the house.

It took DTE Energy almost 1 1/2 hours to arrive to cut down the power lines, a fact that did not sit well with Capello. In January, she traveled to Lansing with Royal Oak Fire Chief Chuck Thomas and City Manager Don Johnson to meet with the Michigan Public Service Commission staff, and conveyed her concerns with the level of response from DTE in the incident involving the house on Woodslee. 

“The MPSC staff was responsive and listened intently to all of the arguments we presented,” Capello said.

“The downed lines hampered our ability to fight the fire,” Thomas said. DTE doesn’t recommend using water to distinguish fires where downed lines exist, the chief said. Firefighters had to contain the fire with short bursts of water to prevent being electrocuted until the lines could be cut.

In mid February, Capello was notified that MPSC staff met with DTE and discussed the Woodslee incident in great depth. 

“DTE indicated that they would contact the company that provides the communications system used by police and fire to contact DTE in wire-down incidents,” Capello said.

MPSC asked for changes to be made to identify wire-down situations, specifically in the case of a house fire, and they got it, Capello said. The project is tentatively scheduled for completion by late summer. 

“This means that police and fire will have the ability to better define an emergency situation where life and property are at stake, and that presumably, DTE can mount a quicker response,” Capello said. “It's a great feeling to know that positive results will arise from this tragic house fire on Woodslee.”