Prepared to Help

September is National Preparedness Month, a reminder that emergencies rarely happen when we expect them. Sometimes, they happen on an ordinary Thursday.

For Florence Serviceman Jason, it started like any other workday. He was traveling along Highway 126 west of Florence between work assignments when he found himself at the scene of a serious head-on collision.

He immediately called 911. One of the vehicles was smoking, so he grabbed the fire extinguisher from his service truck to keep a fire from igniting. The man trapped inside the car was seriously injured, so he used his high-visibility safety vest to apply pressure to a severe wound. He stayed with the man and tried to keep him calm until emergency responders arrived. When asked about it afterward, Jason was quick to downplay his actions. "I didn't do a whole lot. I just did what anyone else would do."

Central Lincoln employees aren't emergency responders. Their job is to safely build, maintain, and restore the electric system. Every day, they travel throughout the communities we serve - often along rural highways and in remote locations. Every Central Lincoln service vehicle carries safety equipment designed to protect employees while they're doing their jobs. Occasionally, those same tools - a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit or AED - allow an employee to help someone else while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.

Over the years, Newport Serviceman Jake has found himself in similar situations. He remembers driving toward Depoe Bay when he saw a man and woman pinned beneath their motorcycle along the side of the road. "I pulled over, put on my flashers, and helped lift the bike off of them," he said. "I just feel like if you come across a situation and you can help, you should. I'd like to think that someone would help me if I needed it."

Jake also recalls putting out a roadside brush fire before it spread and helping extinguish a fire that threatened a Florence home when he was stopped to fuel up his vehicle nearby.

During a major windstorm, Jake and Newport Journeyman Lineman Blake helped rescue an Oregon Department of Forestry worker trapped beneath a fallen tree.

"It was one of those days where everything that could go wrong did," Jake recalled. "Roads were blocked by fallen trees, we were trying to reach a fire in Depoe Bay, and another tree came down and seriously injured an Oregon Department of Forestry worker. We helped free him so emergency responders could get him out."

The willingness to help isn't limited to line crews. Senior Distribution Engineering Technician Bernie and Newport Serviceman Dan also found themselves helping after a fire near Sturdevant Road in Toledo spread into multiple spot fires.

"There was a large plume of smoke in the distance and lots of smaller fires along the road," Bernie said. "I emptied my fire extinguisher, grabbed my shovel, and then Dan showed up. He had extra firefighting equipment, and we just started working our way through the smaller fires one by one."

That same willingness to help shows up in quieter moments, too.

Southern Operations Supervisor Troy remembers hearing what sounded like a faint cry while he and then-Reedsport Serviceman Les were working near Templeton Lane in Hauser.

"I asked Les if he heard it too, and he thought it sounded like a bird somewhere nearby," Troy recalled. "I said, 'No, it's a weird crying noise.'"

After finishing their work, they followed the sound and discovered a young fawn tangled in an old barbed-wire fence. Troy carefully held the fawn still while Les used wire cutters to free it.

As soon as it was free, the little fawn sprinted into a nearby field. Moments later, its mother came running down the hillside. The two quickly reunited, and the fawn began nursing as if nothing had happened.

On another occasion, Jason and Apprentice Lineman Chris spotted a large dog wandering in the middle of Highway 101 north of Florence. After safely getting the dog out of the road, Southern Operations Supervisor Megan transported the gentle giant - a 150-pound mastiff nicknamed "Tiger" - to the local animal shelter, where he was later adopted into a loving home.

Former Reedsport tree crew member Talon once stopped what he was doing to grab a first aid kit from his truck and bandage the hand of a customer who had been injured loading equipment into his vehicle. The customer later called Central Lincoln simply to say thank you, adding that after working for another utility himself, he knew that "we don't always hear the good stuff."

Perhaps that's because many employees don't think these moments are remarkable. To them, they aren't stories at all. They're simply moments when someone needed help.

Preparing for the unexpected often starts with emergency kits, communication plans, and knowing what to do in a crisis.

Sometimes, though, preparedness looks a little different.

It looks like a fire extinguisher pulled from the back of a service truck.

A high-visibility vest used to stop severe bleeding.

A first aid kit offered to a stranger.

A crew taking a few extra minutes to rescue a frightened animal.

Or simply keeping someone calm on what may be the worst day of their life.

Those moments aren't in anyone's job description.

But they say a great deal about the people who choose to do the job.

Then-Reedsport Serviceman Les carefully holds a young fawn that became tangled in an old barbed-wire fence near Hauser. After wandering into traffic on Highway 101 north of Florence, Tiger was safely rescued and later adopted into a loving home. Newport Serviceman Dan works throughout Central Lincoln's service territory, where routine workdays sometimes turn into unexpected opportunities to help others.