Canvas gazebo gets blown to utility post- no one helping (Garden Grove: insurance, house)

[anoneemous81]

So who do I call in cases like these? the fire department, Edison and phone company seem to just be pointing fingers at each other.
Due to the strong winds today, i saw our canvas gazebo hanging on a utility pole at a neighbor's backyard this morning (around 10-10;30). The metal frames of the gazebo were hanging on wires from the pole to our house and a neighbor's house. One of the wires it was hanging on to snapped and has damaged our roof's fascia.
The neighbor called the fire department and they came immediately. the fire dept told me they cannot touch it and that they called Edison. They also said that it was a phone/cable pole. I thought it was odd that they called Edison knowing that was not a power pole. They just told us not to go out to the backyards and call them if it starts to fall down.
This is where it gets frustrating. It took Edison almost 6 hours to arrived after the call. When they arrived, they said they cannot touch it because it is a phone pole and told us to call the phone company. We don't have a land line and are not very familiar with the phone companies in the area. I called the fire dept to ask if they knew the phone companies and they said the don't have resources to know those.
I called at&t since we have at&t uverse internet. att said someone will be out today but I followed up at 9pm and they said it will be for tomorrow. They even asked me how many wires it is hanging on to and I said 3, 1 snapped and they told me to report it to Edison.
I am just very frustrated because of the very slow response times of these companies and the fire dept not being able to do anything. I want to complain but i don't even know who to complain to. Imagine, a gazebo hanging on to a pole above our homes and no one doing anything about it!!!

[Ultrarunner]

There are private companies you can call for assistance.

Your insurance agent usually has a list of specialty contractors.

I'm thinking you might even be billed so your insurance might come in handy...

Something similar happened and the awning ended up on the freeway and caused an accident.

The claim was the owner was negligent for not following manufacturer's requirements to secure...

The fire department would not have left if they thought it posed a risk to life or property.

[russlancea]

boy, that sounds really dangerous! I took down my patio umbrella and closed my cantilever umbrella yesterday--glad I did, because it probably would've flown away just like your gazebo.

This past summer, when a transformer popped at a nearby electricity pole and all power went out to my apt and surrounding homes, Edison came within the hour and got it fixed. The fire dept came before Edison.

Maybe if service (phone or electrical) went down, the agencies would take this more seriously.

[anoneemous81]

A technician from at&t came and single handedly took out the gazebo from the wires/pole with the use of a thin metal pole. it fell and landed on the neighrbors' backyards w/o causing damages. He was reluctant to do it at first because he was by himself and was scared to damage a neighbor's property. He said the wires are not dangerous and can be touched by ourselves. I am still frustrated that the fire department could have done this easier and faster but they didn't.

[Ultrarunner]

Most gladly pass the buck if they can...

I would not have called anyone and tackled the job myself... this is the kind of stuff I deal with as engineering director.

Glad it worked out.

Our Fire Department only act to immediate threats.

Case in point... a couple of kids took a turn too fast and there car was not in a good spot on a mountain road... I flagged down a fire truck that was going by... they stopped and checked the kids and saw they were ok...

I asked if they would winch the car back a few feet to get it in a better spot... they declined citing liability should someone later claim they damaged the vehicle...

About 6 hours later a large tow truck arrived and did the 5 minute job...

[ysr_racer]

Here's the deal, the phone company does put out fires, and the fire department doesn't work on phone lines.

I'm really surprised it took so long to get resolved since I'm sure you were the only person that had damage from the high winds.

[Fontucky]

Did you have the fire department change your oil while they were there? Mow your lawn?

[russlancea]

Glad it's over (the gazebo problem and the winds), but the winds I had here in the Cypress/Garden Grove area were nothing compared to the winds out in Mira Loma. My goodness, I spent one night there and thought it was Hurricane Katrina outside. The howling winds were so strong I thought my car would blow away. I guess that's why my friends never put up the two large shade canopies I gave them.

[Lola The yorkie]

Originally Posted by anoneemous81

A technician from at&t came and single handedly took out the gazebo from the wires/pole with the use of a thin metal pole. it fell and landed on the neighrbors' backyards w/o causing damages. He was reluctant to do it at first because he was by himself and was scared to damage a neighbor's property. He said the wires are not dangerous and can be touched by ourselves. I am still frustrated that the fire department could have done this easier and faster but they didn't.

so whilst the fire dept was putting up their ladders to remove your piece of canvas..which BTW you should have taken down as soon as the winds were predicted....the fire dept is not your handyman to call for things like this..

expecting them to do indicates you have never needed them for a true emergency..ie fire, medical stuff..etc..for which they are the BEST and the fastest to respond..

next time prevent prevent prevent..we have pretty fierce winds here

good luck

[LordOfTheCars]

Do you call 911 when Burger King is out of lemonade?

Burger King 911 call because of no lemonade - YouTube