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April 24, 2008

Update: 1 building still without power at Pastore complex

CRANSTON -- The Hazard Building remains the only building without full power this afternoon at the Pastore Complex of state offices after outages hit seven buildings this morning.

The power failure's cause? Beneath Howard Avenue, steam from a pipe eroded a conduit carrying electrical wiring, according to Adelita Orefice, executive director of the Office of Health and Human Services. It is being repaired, she said.

Orefice said she was taking the lead on providing the update on the situation because she has responsibility for five agencies affected, among them Department of Human Services, Department of Mental Health and Retardation, and Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Six buildings are running at full power on generators, Orefice said. They include the Training School facility.

The Hazard Building, which houses the Department of Elderly Affairs, is expected to be up and running by tomorrow morning. The Hazard Building only has power today to light stairwells and exit signs.

The complex, which is home to several health and correctional services buildings, was plagued by power failures last summer after an electrical surge caused underground power lines to fail.

Orefice said Department of Human Services employees who want to check on the status of the building for tomorrow may call (401) 462-2121, where she said a message should be available.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

A capital improvement project exists for the repair and replacement of wiring in the Pastore Complex, a press release said today. "Until the project is completed, we will continue to inspect the wiring in the system and do our best to prevent this from happening again," Director of Administration Jerome Williams said in the release.

At the Ferand Building, which tends to get warm in hot weather and where power was out for part of the day, some employees used the option of vacation leave or personal leave, Orefice said. The Ferand Building houses the Department of Human Services.

She added that about 60 to 70 employees from the building were deployed to offices in other communities while about 30 to 40 stayed in the building's atrium to assist the public.

"We expect state employees will return to work as usual tomorrow," she said.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:51 PM | Permalink

April 24, 2008

Update: 1 building still without power at Pastore complex

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